


Hiraeth

by ATrueDonaldist



Series: Here's to Our Future [1]
Category: One Piece
Genre: Fix-It, Found Family, Friendship, Gen, Nakamaship, POV Original Character, Self Insert, Self-Indulgent, World Travel
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-07
Updated: 2021-02-06
Packaged: 2021-03-16 21:14:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 23,248
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28588614
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ATrueDonaldist/pseuds/ATrueDonaldist
Summary: Homesickness for a home to which you cannot return, a home which maybe never was; the nostalgia, the yearning, the grief for the lost places of your past.-Coming to the realization that you're inside of a fictional story is already pretty jarring, but having that realization be accompanied by the fact that it'sOne Piece?Well. Let it be known that while many may try, I certainly won't be the one to stop the King from getting his rightful due.No matter the cost.-Chapter 5: (15% Done)
Relationships: Monkey D. Luffy & Mugiwara Kaizoku | Strawhat Pirates
Series: Here's to Our Future [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2148732
Comments: 17
Kudos: 105





	1. New Beginnings

* * *

_When the world says, “Give up,” Hope whispers, “Try it one more time.”_

**_\- Author Unknown_ **

* * *

_...My temperature is fine._

I look out onto the street from the sidewalk I paused on, and narrow my eyes.

 _No hallucinations._ There are people walking up and down the street, chatting amicably with each other, and a couple of them ask me to get out of the way since I’m blocking some of the traffic. A little girl runs down the street with a triple scoop ice cream cone, her father warning her to be careful.

_Vision, check. Hearing, check. Smell?_

I scrunch up my nose at the scent of pungent tobacco. _Check._

I’m perfectly fine. Not feeling under the weather, not feeling like this is a dream—pinching myself didn’t work either—and the scene happening before my eyes now...

_“Sorry kid, looks like my pants ate your ice cream.”_

There’s no way this is real.

_“Here, go buy yourself five scoops.”_

Right?

_“Let’s go.”_

I inadvertently swallow and step further away from his path. He’s… a lot taller than I thought he’d be, in real life. I can’t help but stare at his retreating back as the marines under his command squabble after him.

What the _hell_.

 _That was_ Smoker _._ Vice Admiral _Smoker—ah, no, he’d just be…a captain right now, wouldn’t he? Wait, no, that’s not the problem right now at all!_

I bury my fingers into my temple and gather my thoughts.

 _Okay_ . First off: somehow, some way, I’m in the world of One Piece. Second, I can’t remember anything about how I got here. Third, and here’s the real kicker; I’m early enough in the story to maybe _make a difference_ because _that was just Smoker who walked by_ , and I definitely remember that scene from the manga. That means that Luffy—that the _Strawhats_ , are still in East Blue.

I take a breath.

_That means that nothing has gone to shit yet._

My hands clench into fists, and for the first time this morning since I realized where I was?

I felt like everything was finally _right_.

I was sent here for a reason. And even if I wasn’t, there’s one thing I know for sure.

For these characters—for these _people_ that have accomplished the _impossible_ … for once, someone will try and do the impossible for _them_.

I exhale.

And _nothing_ would get in my way.

* * *

...Except for becoming horribly, horribly lost.

Let it be known that Loguetown, the town of the beginning and the end, seriously needs to invest in a map system, because I feel like I’ve been walking in circles for hours on end.

Distantly, I wonder if this is how Zoro feels.

“Hey, look at that—there’s someone on the execution platform!” A voice calls out from behind me, and my back straightens involuntarily.

“Woah, the storm clouds brewing are no joke…” _Storm clouds…?_

“Did you hear? Buggy the Clown is going to execute Strawhat Luffy!”

I choke on my spit.

 _No. Already? I thought I had more time than that_ —!

I whirl around to where the people are pointing and brilliantly (or stupidly, a part of my brain laughs admiringly) there he is. Strawhat Luffy, the man who will become the Pirate King, chained on top of the platform with Buggy the Clown ready to lop his head off.

Without thinking, I push my way through the crowd, desperate to see him up close.

“ _I AM THE MAN THAT WILL BECOME THE PIRATE KING!_ ” his voice rings loudly across the clearing, effectively shutting up everyone in the vicinity of his determination, of the pure _truth_ of his statement. I come straight to the edge of the crowd, crashing into someone and breath catching, because _oh._

_So that’s the power of hearing the King make his mark on the world._

Something giddy rises inside me, and the smile on my face widens unbidden.

_And we’ll make sure you get there, Pirate King._

Huh. Now that I think about it… maybe it’s the beginnings of Conqueror’s Haki…?

“Are you alright?” A concerned voice brings me out of my stupor, and I look up at the main with a small smile. “Yeah, I’m fine, thank y—” I cut myself off, eyes widening at the face looking down at me.

“ _Sabo?”_ I choke.

The man—It’s Sabo, that’s definitely Sabo, the tophat and goggles and _scar_ —tenses and his eyes narrow dangerously at me just as my actions catch up with my brain. _Crap._

I jolt out of his grasp that tightened around my arm, and run through the crowd because crap, crap, crap, _crap_ . I didn’t know that he was in this crowd, that he was even anywhere _near_ Loguetown. What are the chances, the _odds_?

Vaguely, I remember seeing a top hat in the crowds Oda had drawn in the manga, not giving it a second glance. Of course that tiny detail comes to bite me in the ass, why wouldn’t it?

I trip on the loose stones on the sidewalk and nearly eat stone—but a firm hand grabs me by the shoulder and drags me away from being sliced by a stray sword from one of Buggy’s crew. “What are you doing, woman?!”

 _Roronoa Zoro._ I gape up at him and his annoyed glare—much more terrifying in real life than it had any right to be, and I blink. _Woman?_

Another hand pulls me away from him, and a smoother voice snarls vehemently at Zoro. “How dare you pull a lady’s arm so harshly?! She could have gotten hurt!”

_And Sanji._

“I just _saved_ her from getting sliced, moron cook!”

“You could have pulled her arm out of its socket with how harshly you pulled it is what you did, moss-for-brains!”

Alright. I remember being exasperatedly fond of their arguments while reading, but—“Is this really the time to be arguing while your captain is about to be beheaded?!” I hiss frantically, just as I hear Luffy’s voice call from above.

“Zoro! Sanji! Usopp! Nami!” The former two freeze from their arguing, before they start fighting against the pirates again with renewed vigor, pushing me between them in order to keep me from getting attacked.

I look up at the platform, eyes widening at the broad smile on Luffy’s face.

“Sorry. I’m dead.”

  
  


_And the heavens answered his call._

  
  


The bolt lasted for a second, maybe a couple, if we wanted to give it some credit, but its effect was instantaneous.

The platform lights up in a blue blaze, crackling from the might of heaven’s wrath, before crumbling to a heap on the floor. Buggy, fried but twitching—alive—and Luffy, walking forward to pick up his windblown hat, _laughs._

“Hey, I’m alive,” he snickers. “I’m OK!”

The stunned crowd watched with jaws dropped at this child, this kid who announced to the world that he would become the Pirate King. At how, if there was a god up there, they basically supported his statement. A miracle.

I can’t help it. I laugh with him.

Only Luffy would be able to walk out of something like this completely unharmed.

Beside me, Sanji didn’t seem to share the same sentiment of his captain’s laughter, looking utterly winded.

“...Oi, do you believe in god?” he asks blankly.

Zoro scoffs and jabs his thumb down a random direction. “Now isn’t the time to ask about that. We’re blowing this town.”

I shake myself out of my own stupor and grab Zoro’s arm, pointing them in the general direction of the docks to the west. “This way,” I urge. “They’re going to send the marines in, so it’s better for us to get a headstart.”

He raises an eyebrow at that. “Us?”

“Come on shitty moss-head, if the lady says that the marines are coming, they’re probably coming—let’s go!”

“Don’t tell me what to do—!”

“Run, run run!” Luffy laughs delightedly, and I smile with him against my will. Damnit, it’s _so_ hard not to think fondly of everything he does, not when he’s still pure like this. (Not when there’s so much innocence in his eyes about death.)

I point down the street to the west of us, pulling Sanji and Zoro with me. “Just follow me! This should get us to the sea!” I wasn’t lying about that. Through my lost wanderings, I _had_ found the sea eventually before stumbling my way to the execution platform.

I was just hoping that this time, they wouldn’t run into Smoker and Tashigi.

* * *

Which, in hindsight, was really a lost cause.

Sanji notices her first—standing alone in the rain with a sword at her hip, and I bite my lip. She really _does_ look like Kuina, and I can feel Zoro’s apprehensive feelings from here, running by Luffy and Sanji’s side.

The four of us come to a halt in front of her, Sanji practically waxing poetry through his eyes alone, and I frown, running through the scenario in my head. If I remembered correctly, Zoro would fight Tashigi and beat her easily letting the other two go ahead, while Luffy would handle Smoker further down the line, letting Sanji alone get to the Going Merry.

And sure enough—the _clang_ of steel rings out in the street, and Tashigi’s eyes glare angrily at Zoro’s, Sanji quite literally steaming next to me as he growls over how Zoro is treating her.

“Please don’t interfere! This is a fight between me and this pirate Roronoa Zoro!” She exclaims loudly, furiously putting her weight behind her attack. On the other hand, Zoro almost looks bored as he defends against her, eyes flicking back to Luffy.

“You heard her. I’ll handle this.”

Luffy nods with a smile. “Got it. Let’s go, Sanji, lady!”

Sanji seems to deflate at this, between the outrage of attacking a woman, and the captain's orders—until he looks at me and clenches his jaw. “Mosshead, I swear if you hurt one hair on that lady’s head, I won’t forgive you!”

I shake my head in dismay as the fight behind us starts to begin in earnest, the ringing of steel eventually being drowned out by the pitter-patter of the rain. Tashigi was behind us now, so this turn should lead us to—

Ah, shit.

I groan loudly as I catch sight of who was underneath the harbor entrance’s arch— _Smoker_. And his bike. A bike that I forgot he had because I seriously don’t think he uses that thing after Loguetown which was odd to think about, because—

“Strawhat Luffy. Didn’t I tell you that you couldn’t enter the Grand Line without beating me first?”

“Oh right. I forgot!”

I facepalm quietly from my place just behind Luffy, and eye Smoker warily. _This_ is a fight I know that Luffy doesn’t win—not without the help of Dragon.

...Actually, speaking of Dragon—

“Sanji, take her and go on ahead. Kay?” Luffy’s face is almost blank, but there’s a roaring determination that I can feel from him, ready to break out and fight this _fun_ danger. However, it’s also one that I’m hesitant to follow. “Wait, Luffy—”

“Go, Sanji! I’ll keep him busy!” and that’s all I hear before Sanji lifts me off my feet, ignoring my gasp of “wait” and running ahead.

“Got it, Luffy—just make it quick!”

I squirm in his grasp desperately, but I’m nowhere near as strong as Sanji—definitely not one of the monster trio. “Let go, he doesn’t stand a chance against a _logia_ and he needs to know that—” I cut myself off short as Merry and marines make themselves known to us at the waters edge.

“Sanji!” Usopp and Nami’s voices ring in unison as they catch sight of us, and Sanji seems to elevate a couple feet in the air as he calls out to “Nami-swan”.

Huh. First Conqueror’s Haki from Luffy, and now what looks like a Sky Walk? _Huh._

“Sanji, who’s that?!” Usopp points out to me since I’m still in his arms, and he opens his mouth to reply—only to stop short, confusion in his expression as he looks down at me. “That’s… a good question. We never got your name, mademoiselle—”

I push his face away and gesture frantically at an oncoming marine running behind us. “Sanji, behind you!”

He adjusts me accordingly and kicks a marine in the face—and I wince at the look on the marine’s face, most likely from the pain. I bite my lip again as I look at Sanji, since it’s growing apparent that his fighting skills are impeded by my presence.

A few Marines fall nearby, and a quick glance confirms that Usopp jumped into the ocean to provide support for us, and I find myself smirking a bit. _He calls himself a coward, but fearlessly falls into a rowdy ocean to give his friend the support he needs…_

I’m drawn out of my thoughts though as Sanji takes a blunt hit to his shoulder, making him gasp slightly, and I grit my teeth. “Sanji, let me go—you can fight better without me being in your arms!”

He roundhouse kicks multiple marines in a row and frowns down at me—

And then everything turns _green_.

The next thing I know, I’m leaning against a wall on the harbor, shaking my head and gazing blearily down at the utter _destruction_ Dragon’s attack left on the city and port.

Nearby, a voice—Luffy’s—groans. “What just happened…?”

I shake my head and stand, a bit wobbly. I knew it was going to happen, but… wow. That was pure and utter _power_. One of the most dangerous men in the world, indeed…

A hand reaches out to steady me, and I blink and smile gratefully at Zoro.

“Shit, we better hurry or the ship will be swept away,” Sanji hisses, and starts to run towards the ship, followed by Usopp and Zoro—Luffy running in the opposite direction.

I hesitate to follow, but only because Luffy’s signature “Gomu Gomu no…” echoes from behind us, and the fearful looks dawning on their faces makes me giggle helplessly.

“ROCKET!”

I squeak as Sanji shields me from the bulk of Luffy’s impact, all of us flying through the air towards Merry.

A second later, and suddenly the scenery is completely different. Nami looks at me with wide eyes and I wave feebly at her, if a bit confusedly.

“Er. Hello. Where is everyone?” I inquire hesitantly, and my answer comes in the form of groans rumbling from beneath where I’m sitting.

“Oi. Mind getting off us, woman?” Zoro’s voice comes out flatly, and I jump up to stand immediately, wincing. “Shit, I’m sorry—are you all okay?”

The scattering of moans from the pile I just left answers my question relatively well enough, and I sigh weakly.

Then the events of what just happened catches up to me, and I raise a hand to my eyes.

 _Them_ . The Strawhat pirates. Only about half of them now, just leaving East Blue, but _there_ all the same. And I _met them_ . I’m on the Going Merry, their beloved beginning ship, and I’m _with_ them, and suddenly, it feels like it’s too much.

“Hey… are you okay?” A hand settles on my shoulder and I lower my hand to see Nami looking at me with worried eyes. I realize the wetness on my face isn’t just due to the rain, and I hiccup a laugh.

“I’m okay. Just… a lot has happened,” I chuckle, and she gives me a bright smile.

“Yeah, with this crew? A lot of things happen all at once, so I get how you feel,” she laughs with me, and we both just sit there until the boys one by one stand up from their misery.

“Ah… who are you, by the way?” She looks at me questioningly, and it’s clearly a question that’s on everyone’s mind—sans Luffy—because they all turn to look at me.

It’s a question I’ve been expecting, but also dreading… simply because—

* * *

“WHAAAT?!”

I tug my jacket tighter over my form—the rain is fierce and the wind is pretty harsh after all—and shrug.

“Just that. I don’t remember my name, or who I was—am? Whatever.” And it’s true. I can’t remember… _anything_ . Other than the story of One Piece, I can’t remember a single damn thing about myself. Not my name, not my age, not my past—it’s just a solid, black _blank_. I don’t even remember anything about the world that I called (call?) home.

It would bother me more if I cared much about who I was, who I am. And I really don’t.

I’m taking advantage of my knowledge so I can help the people who need it, _deserve_ it most. And they’re the people right in front of me.

The frown on my face deepens and my knuckles turn white from how hard I’m gripping them.

I’d always been a person that cared more about those around me than myself. If my past was important, if my _world_ was important, I would have remembered it. But I don’t, and as it stands, I don’t need to. Everything I need to know I already have in my head—I’m not particularly torn up about it.

The Strawhats seem to think differently though, from the concerned looks they shoot each other (which was limited to Usopp, Sanji, and Nami. Luffy was already gazing out past the figurehead, and Zoro looked like he was napping.)

“So you don’t remember anything? At all?” Nami asks hesitantly, and tilts her head when I shake my head.

“Nothing about my past. I know a lot about the world though, and the people in it,” I offer, folding my arms. I bite my lip again (it’s becoming a habit) and look at the three of them.

“I...know that this might be a farfetched request, but…” I bow my head to them squeezing my eyes shut, ignoring the little noise of shock coming from the three of them. “Could you let me stay on your ship until I get my memories back?” _Lie._

_Could you let me stay on your ship so I can save you from the pain you don’t deserve to feel?_

Surprisingly—it isn’t one of their voices that answer. It’s Luffy’s.

“That’s silly. You’re already nakama, where else would you go?”

Silence.

“WHAT?!”

“Luffy, we just met her, you can’t just decide that out of the blue!”

I’m dumbfounded.

_“What do you mean? She saved us, didn’t she? Helped us get to Merry.”_

I already knew, just how selfish this boy was—to claim to be the Pirate King, to take what was _his_ and _never let go_.

 _“That’s… true, but her entire story could be faked_ —”

But never, in my wildest dreams, did I think that I would be a part of what this miracle child considers one of _his_.

_“She’s a good person. That’s good enough for me!”_

I laugh.

And maybe it was a bit too maniacally, with how Usopp and Nami eye me warily, but I can’t help it.

_This is the boy that I will burn the world down for._

“Thank you,” I add more sincerely, laughter bleeding out into fondness and tears.

“Thank you _so_ much.”

* * *

After my tears were dried (as much as they could be, considering the rain), all of us congregated on Merry’s deck near the figurehead, just past the mast.

Nami sweeps up her wet hair with a sigh, a fond smile betraying her annoyed face. “I guess there’s no helping it. Welcome to the crew… eh?” She tilts her head and gazes at me searchingly. “Right. You don’t remember your name…”

I nod at that. It doesn’t really bother me that I don’t remember mine, but it would prove to be a hassle for the others.

“Okay, then why don’t we give you one?” She grins brightly, and I laugh a bit.

“Sure, why not?” I chuckle, remembering the first time they tried to name someone. For the amazing pirates they were, naming was definitely not their forte, but I’d be willing to take anything they gave.

Luffy hits his palm with his fist in an ‘ah-ha!’ gesture. “Oh! Oh! I know, how about Meat?”

_CLONK._

“WE ARE NOT NAMING HER THAT!” Nami howls, holding her fist angrily at the rising bump on Luffy’s head.

Sanji cups his chin with his hand. “Well, a beautiful flower such as yourself deserves a beautiful name… so how about ‘Belle’?”

I consider it for a moment, but eventually shake my head. I’m no beautiful french maiden, after all—and taking the name reminds me too much of something from my home world, I think.

“Hm… oh! How about New?” Usopp chimes, and we all look at him confusedly. He rubs the back of his neck abashedly, laughing weakly. “I mean, we found you just before our new adventure to the Grand Line, right? Er, but then again, ‘New’ really isn’t a good name, is it…” he trails off and the crew goes back to thinking, but I dwell on that for a minute.

_New… like new beginnings. A new past and a different future._

A name comes to my lips. “Ordell Neo.”

The Strawhats blink at me, confusion written in their eyes, and I hasten to explain.

“It’s Latin, and it means ‘New Beginnings’,” I ramble, hands grasping in front of me. “I just… I don’t remember my past, but with you all… it’s like a new beginning, like Usopp said, right?”

When I look up, they’re smiling at me, Usopp’s grin being especially wide.

“Okay then! Ordell Neo it is!”

“It’s a beautiful name for a beautiful lady such as yourself!”

“Welcome to the crew, Neo!”

And despite myself—I smile.

“Woohooooo! Nami, Nami look, there’s a light!” Luffy crows, bouncing excitedly up and down and gesturing at the lighthouse beaming brilliantly on the muggy seas.

Nami leaps up. “That’s the ‘Guiding Light’! Just beyond it is the entrance to the Grand Line!” She cheers, and then turns to Luffy, eyes glinting with excitement. “Luffy? What’s it gonna be?”

Luffy looks from the lighthouse back to Nami, and then to Zoro, Sanji, Usopp… and then me.

A breath I didn’t know I was holding in exhales from me, as I catch his eyes.

 _Adventure. Fun._ _Excitement._

“Let’s go, everyone! To the Grand Line!”

Usopp moans about the ongoing storm from behind me, but I can’t bring myself to comfort him, not when I can see that same spark of adventure in him, raring to go, even through the fear.

“How about we do something to mark the occasion—while also celebrating our new crewmate?” Sanji asks, already bringing up a barrel from Merry’s storage.

They exchange excited looks and agree immediately, gathering around the barrel. I move to stay behind, but Luffy looks back at me with a curious look.

“Aren’t you gonna join us, Neo?”

I splutter a reply, but Nami gently takes my arm and brings me to the forefront, right next to her.

“You’re one of us now, so don’t hesitate, okay?”

I swallow, and then nod, focusing my attention on the barrel in front of me, determination brimming.

“I’m going to find All Blue,” Sanji announces, putting his leg on the barrel.

“I’m going to become the King of the Pirates!”

“I’m going to be the world’s greatest Swordsman.”

“I’m going to draw a map of the world!”

“I...I’m going to become a great warrior of the seas!”

“I…” I stop, and take a deep breath.

_I’m going to save you all._

_I’m going to erase and rewrite your past and make a better future._

_I’m going to burn down this hell of a world that hurt you so much._

“I’m going to find my missing memories!” _Lie._

“We’re all going to the Grand Line… let’s do it, everyone!”

“AYE!”

_Crash._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey there! If you made it this far, thanks!  
> There are a couple of things I want to note here.
> 
> One: Please, please take this fic with a grain of _salt_. This fic is a creation of mine because I'm mad about the characters that died, events that happen within canon, and otherwise. This is totally and ultimately a FIX-IT. Because fuck canon.
> 
> Two: I don't plan on making this anything other than a fix-it. I'll be sticking to canon events and characters only: Neo is the only original character that will appear, because this is a self-indulgent self-insert. Remember when I said to take this fic with a grain of salt? There you go.
> 
> Three: I do plan on changing some events and such because I don't want to copy canon EXACTLY, but don't expect there to be some huge story changing event that throws everything off course. I might delve into Neo's history, but their purpose is exactly what they say it is: to prevent specific people from dying, and to support the Strawhats. Though this could change in the future, who knows?
> 
> Four: If you plan to stick around, I can only assume that you want to see these characters saved and protected as much as I do. And if so, I hope you have fun reading, dear reader.
> 
> Five: Neo isn't really a self insert. They have facets of my personality, but ultimately, they're a puppet character carrying the actions I wish I could make in this story. Hell, read it like a reader-insert if you so choose. Neo is just the personification of the will of people wanting to change the past.
> 
> And that should be it! Again, I hope you enjoyed reading if you made it this far. Until next chapter!


	2. New Promises

_ There had been a small moment of reprieve after Luffy had spotted the lighthouse. Because of it, Nami called everyone inside to talk about what was going to happen next. _

_ I already knew what they were going to talk about, so I took that moment to go over everything that had occurred over the course of the day, as there were a couple things I had to note. _

* * *

The others were gathering near the table in the galley, and I had my head in a notebook Nami had lent me when I asked if we had spare paper and pencils.

I tap the blunt end of the pencil against the paper with a grimace. A lot happened today, a lot of things out of my control that could affect the future—and whether it was good or bad, remained to be seen.

_ Firstly… _

I close my eyes.

_ Sabo _ .

I hadn’t been expecting him to be in Loguetown. At all. Especially not in the crowd, about to see his little brother get beheaded.

_ I’m chalking it up to no one explicitly saying Luffy’s name aloud. Or maybe it was the first step to getting his memory back? Still, how does he not get his memory back at  _ all _ after that? _

I shake my head in despair.  _ Not the problem. Get to the point. _

_ Sabo knows my face. _ And he knows that I know him, which is dangerous for the Revolutionary Army, and  _ that _ means I’m going to be a target—or at least something akin to it. I’m going to have to be a bit more careful showing my face from here on out.

_ Secondly… _

I joined the Strawhat Pirates.

_ That was my goal from the beginning, but Luffy never ceases to surprise. I’m glad he thinks of me like nakama—it’ll be easier to protect him and the other if he trusts me. _

I draw a line separating the ‘Sabo’ section and the ‘Strawhat’ section, labeling them as ‘good’ and ‘bad’. After a moment of hesitation, I add a ‘future’ category as well.

The good thing about being from a different world, is the fact that you have access to languages that they don’t know—though in my case, that’s just… whatever this language is. It’s definitely different from the language they’re using now, so I’m confident in the fact that they won’t be able to read the notebook I’m writing in.

I don’t have an explanation as to how I’m speaking their language now, though. World travel magic? Sure, let’s go with that. However, it also means that I’m not able to read  _ their _ language, which might bring up some concerns later… but for now, it’s not an issue.

In the ‘future’ category, I write down a couple things.

_ -Vivi (Princess) _

_ -Alabasta (Save.) _

_ -Whiskey Peak (Wary) _

_ -Laboon (Rumbar Pirates) _

_ -Crocus (Log Pose) ...ask about Roger? _

_ -Chopper (prevent Nami from getting bitten by Little Garden bug somehow? but how to convince Luffy that we need a doctor?) _

“...OUNTAIN?!”

I pause from my writing.

“What about a mountain,” I ask curiously, standing up from the chair I was sitting in and wandering towards the others. I already know the answer, but I focus my attention on Nami, pocketing the small notebook in my pants.

I don’t need to write everything down now anyway. A lot of these things won’t become important until later, so I have some time before I figure out what to do with it.

“Ah, Neo, I was just talking about how we’re going to get to the Grand Line.” Nami gestures at the map in front of us, pointing at the base of the Red Line. “This is where we are, generally. The arrow points up what looks like a canal, right through the mountain—so I’m willing to bet that that’s our way in.”

“But sailing  _ up a mountain _ ? That’s impossible!” Usopp shakes his head vehemently, and I take this moment to chime in. “Not exactly.”

The others look at me curiously, and I point at the oceans around the Red Line. “Look here. The Red Line is basically in the middle of all the Blues, right? East, North, West, South Blue.” There’s a chorus of nods, so I forge on.

“But think. Loguetown had fish that came from the other Blues, right? The only way that could be possible, is if there were some way the water from the other Blues could flow into East Blue.” I take a quick glance at my audience, and from the dawning realization on Sanji, Usopp, and Zoro’s faces, I congratulate myself on being able to explain something decently well.

Nami, who’d already suspected this, nods. “Neo’s right. It looks like there’s a canal that leads us to the Grand Line—if we take the route directly from Loguetown, and then take a sharp left…”

The line leads directly to the portion labeled “Grand Line” on the map, and Usopp moans, “Do we  _ have _ to take the crazy route?”

Zoro leans over and casually points out the section of open sea on the map. “He’s got a point. Why don’t we just sail through the sea here south?”

“NO WAY!” Luffy bellows indignantly, and Zoro sticks a finger in his ear in response to the shout, grimacing.

I gently nudge the captain away and shake my head. “Adventure-seeking captain aside, we’re not strong enough to handle the Calm Belt.”

“The Calm Belt?” A trio of voices pipe up, and I gesture vaguely out the window, where no wind, sea, or rainstorms howled.

“The Calm Belt.”

Silence.

“WAHHH WE’RE IN THE CALM BELT!” Nami’s shriek comes abruptly, leaving all of us wincing from the high-pitched sound. “Lower the sails  _ and start rowing _ !” She hisses.

“But the weather’s great—” Zoro starts, but I cut him off, gazing distantly at the storm we just left.

“The Calm Belts are the parts of the sea that separate the Grand Line from the rest of the Blues,” I motion towards the picture-perfect weather and frown. “But they’re notoriously dangerous, since there are never any winds to push ships forward. We would be stuck here for weeks, maybe even months.” A gurgle from beneath the ship in the water catches my attention, and I send him a wry smile.

“Plus, the fact that it also happens to be the breeding grounds of Sea Kings...”

As if waiting for their cue, bunches of Sea Kings rise from the surface of the water, taking  _ us _ with them—Nami wailing miserably and the boys gaping in shock.

“WHY DIDN’T YOU SAY THAT FIRST?!” Usopp whines at me.

I shrug. “It didn’t seem important at the time.”

He grits his teeth. “HOW IS IT NOT IMPORTA—huh?” There’s a lull in movement as the Sea King scrunches up its nose, and it dawns on me what he’s about to do.

“Ah… crap. Please keep your hands, arms, feet, and legs inside the vehicle at all times… and watch your children.” I intone drearily, grabbing hold of Luffy and Usopp’s clothing with one hand, and a rope in the other, ignoring the incredulous looks shot in my direction.

I sigh. “Basically: Hold on, because I think the Sea King is going to sneeze.”

“Wha—”

_ ACHOO! _

“—AAAAAAAAA—”

* * *

“— _ AAAAAAAAAAAAAA _ —”

_ CRASH. _

I crack open an eye, groaning piteously and release the death grip I have on Usopp and Luffy’s collars. Rain pelts down on Merry’s deck and on us, and I can practically feel the wave of relief that runs through the crew as we realize that we’re safely back in East Blue, away from the Calm Belt.

“Thank god… it’s just a storm…” Usopp puts a hand on the wall and wallows in his own despair, while Sanji and Zoro let out twin groans of pain.

I make to untangle my hand from the ropes I grabbed on to, and wince at the sharp pain—crap.

The rope had dug into my arm in several places leaving minor burns, but the worst part was on my wrist and hand, where it was clear that several layers of skin were rubbed off. The sea spray isn’t helping the pain, so I shove the sleeves of my coat down it and elect to deal with it  _ after _ the trek up Reverse Mountain.

And that’s when I catch sight of it.

“Holy…” I breathe, watching this utterly  _ monstrous _ stone face loom down us in complete and utter awe. My sentiment is shared by the rest of the crew, I gather, from Usopp’s audible jaw drop and the spike in curiosity from Sanji and Zoro.

The moment only lasts so long though, as Merry suddenly  _ lurches _ and we’re swept up in the rushing canal that rides up the mountain. I grab desperately onto Merry’s railing with my good hand. “We’re getting drawn in—!” I shout, gasping as everything careens to the side.

“Sanji, Usopp—!”

“On it!”

The aforementioned two run inside to grab at the whipstaff, and I’m suddenly reminded of a sharp  _ crack _ sound that begins the many scars Merry starts to receive on the legs of their journey.

I sharply turn towards them, hissing, “Careful with the whipstaff! If you’re not, you could risk snapping it and hurt Merry!”

From the dawning horror on Usopp’s face, I’m confident he’ll do what he can to not harm Merry, and he gives me a nod. Sanji beams widely at me with hearts in his eyes.

“Anything for you, Neo dear~!” He swoons, and I only have a second to sweatdrop before Zoro rolls his eyes. “Shut up and steer, love cook,” he snaps, and immediately draws in Sanji’s ire.

“Don’t tell me what to do, toothpick swordsman!”

Alright.

“ _ Boys _ .”

That shuts them both up, and I sigh.

...And then immediately squeak as I see an oncoming arch. “ _ Incoming! _ ”

Nami shrieks and orders the boys to turn the rudder, but Usopp’s voice comes wailing out, pained. “We can’t! If we push any harder, it’ll definitely snap, and then we’ll be doomed!”

“We’ll  _ still _ be doomed if we don’t get out of the way of the arch—” Is what she starts to say, but Luffy leaps over Merry’s railing and starts breathing in.

“Gomu Gomu no…” His body starts to swell, and internally, I sigh in relief.

“Balloon!”

Merry bounces off Luffy’s rubber body and steadies herself on the rushing canal, and I smile at the resulting cheers that sound from Nami and the way Usopp and Sanji wilt against the—still intact!—whipstaff. Zoro grabs hold of Luffy’s arm and pulls him back onto the deck, and finally, the cheers are sounded in unison from us.

“We’re safe—that means from here, it should be smooth sailing to the Grand Line!” Nami smiles, and her energy is infectious as we look around the canal, the clouds creating an almost ethereal landscape.

_ This is it. _

Merry dips forward, and we’re suddenly on a downward incline, when—

_ “BWAHHHHH.” _

My breath catches in my throat, and I stutter in my steps to reach the front of Merry’s deck.

“Hey, there’s something up ahead—” Usopp chimes from above—when did he and Sanji get up there?—on the sail, and Sanji calls out his agreement.

“It looks like… a mountain?” He tilts his head, and while I want to tell them what it is,  _ who _ it is, the sound comes again.

“ _...WOOOOOOAAHHHHH… _ ”

_ Pain. Sadness. Longing. _

_...Hoping. _

I choke.

A hand taps my shoulder, and I look up to see Nami’s concerned eyes, Zoro just behind her, looking like he’s straining to hear something. “Neo, are you okay? You look pale,” she frowns, and I shake my head with sudden urgency.

“I’m… fine. But that’s not the problem right now—we need to slow Merry down, and  _ fast _ !” I shake my head to fend off the waves of sadness sounding from Laboon, and look around desperately for ways to slow our descent down, ignoring the sounds of confusion coming from her.

“That isn’t a mountain—it’s a  _ whale _ , and he’s right in the way of our exit point!”

Silence.

“ _ WHAT?! _ ”

There’s a quick scramble as everyone starts to make their way to various areas on the ship—Zoro shouting at us all to aim for the opening to the left. The three of them—Sanji, Usopp, and Zoro—pull at Merry’s whipstaff again, but we’re still descending too fast to change direction, and I’m starting to lose a bit of hope here.

“Ah, I’ve got an idea!” Luffy shouts and runs below deck before I can stop him, silently echoing Nami’s yelp of “What are you planning to do Luffy?!” despite knowing  _ exactly _ what he was going to do.

And I’m right: the cannon goes off just before we crash, slowing our descent slightly—but not enough to save Merry’s figurehead from going flying.

“No…” I wince as her head lands on deck, just missing Nami, and internally sigh.  _ Damnit. _

I managed to save her whipstaff, but not her head… which means Luffy will probably antagonize Laboon.

I move toward Merry’s figurehead and stroke it gently, regret seeping into my words.

“Sorry I couldn’t save your head this time, girl.” I murmur, and it might be my imagination, but I think I can feel a nudge of acceptance coming from her, and I smile weakly. Merry is nakama, after all, so one of my goals is to keep her as undamaged as possible—though it’ll be hard with a crew like this.

“Alright come on you lot, let’s get rowing before  _ it notices us _ .” Nami’s sharp voice makes the boys start rowing past Laboon, and I help her to her feet.

“I wouldn’t get your hopes up…” I say without humour, just as Luffy steps up to the deck—

—And punches Laboon’s eye.

_ “YOU IDIOT!!”  _ the crew wails, as Luffy huffs self righteously.

“That’s what you get for breaking my special sea—mmph!” he’s cut off by Usopp and Zoro tackling him to the ground, as Laboon lets out a wail of his own—just as agonizing as before.

I make to cover my ears with a full-body flinch, and  _ it’s so much worse up close _ .

“—gh, my ears—” Sanji’s voice comes through, muffled, and I whine lowly.

“Neo? Are you okay?” Nami is prodding my shoulder again and I grit my teeth, shaking my head.

“He’s so  _ sad _ …” I whisper, and Nami looks at me confusedly.

“ _ Sad _ —?” She’s cut off though as Laboon’s mouth opens wide—and threatens to swallow us whole.

Actually, scratch that. He  _ is _ swallowing us whole, and the last thing I hear before everything goes black is Luffy’s shout of “I’m gonna fall!”.

* * *

When I come to, it’s to the relieved faces of my crewmates, and—

I blink. “Crocus?”

The old man in question blinks back at me in surprise, as do the rest of my crewmates, and I mentally slam my head against a brick wall.  _ Damnit, I need to learn to keep my mouth shut, this is the second time _ —!

“You know him, Neo?”

I shake my head and look around me, taking note of… oh.

Vivi—I mean, Ms. Wednesday—and Mr. Nine were tied up next to the palm tree of Crocus’ ship looking quite miserable, and I sigh. I missed a lot, it looks like.

I look back to Crocus and the others. “No, but I remember hearing about a famous doctor living at Twin Capes, who was once a part of Gol D. Roger’s crew…” the lie slips out easier than I thought it would. Maybe I was an actor in my past life or something.

_ That _ catches the attention of the rest of the crew though, and they look at the old man in shock. “You were a part of the Pirate King’s Crew?!” they shout.

“You’re a doctor?! You should join my crew!” Luffy’s shout is drowned out by the rest, and I chuckle, looking around me.

“So… where exactly are we?” I wonder aloud, and Crocus focuses his attention on me, something in his gaze.

“We’re in Laboon’s stomach—the whale you lot irritated enough into swallowing you whole,” he scoffs, and then reaches out to take my bandaged hand—wait, my  _ bandaged _ hand?

“And  _ you _ need to take better care of your crew,” he raises an eyebrow at Luffy, who looks bemused. “Your crewmate here had a pretty bad rope burn that dug into their skin—I’d say second degree, starting to look infected. You should have had your doctor look at it,” He aims the last part at me, and I shrug helplessly, ignoring the looks on my crewmate’s faces as they silently ask why I didn’t tell them.

I give them an apologetic shrug. “Wasn’t important at the time—also, we don’t have a doctor,”  _ yet _ , I add in my mind, and Crocus rears back in surprise.

“You don’t have a doctor yet? And you’re going to the Grand Line?” he blanches, and I giggle.

“We’ve made it this far, haven’t we?” I say amicably, and he huffs a huge sigh.

“Young people these days…”

I smile at the glint in his eyes, telling of a former pirate and his adventures with the crew of the Pirate King, the memories left behind.

“So, what type of whale is Laboon? Why is he even here?” Usopp asks, and Crocus inclines his head.

“Laboon is an Island whale. They’re normally native to West Blue, and are considered the largest whales in the world,” he recites, looking up at the ‘sky’ of Laboon’s stomach.

“As for why he’s here… well, I should start at the beginning.”

I hummed lightly and closed my eyes, listening to the almost distant sounds of Laboon’s calls and the story being told behind me.

“Laboon followed after a ship full of friendly, music-loving pirates,” Crocus says softly, face shadowed. “They thought they left him behind, but Laboon followed after him. Thought of them as his pod.”

“Their ship was damaged after going through Reverse Mountain, so they stayed at Twin Capes in order to repair their ship. By the time it was finished, I had become good friends with the crew, specifically the captain, and his first mate.”

He chuckled wistfully. “They asked me to take care of Laboon—just for a few years—until they were able to circumnavigate the world and arrive back at Twin Capes to see him again.” His face turns dark, and I know what’s coming next.

“That was fifty years ago.”

My hands tighten into a grip, and I bite my lip so I don’t intervene with his story, even though he’s talking about  _ Brook _ . Brook, who is stuck in the Florian Triangle. Brook, who wants so desperately to keep his promise, and  _ can’t _ .

“He still thinks his friends are coming back.”

I hold my tongue long enough for Luffy to comment curiously about the metal sheeted tunnels in Laboon’s body, and Crocus shakes his head.

“When they get this big, it’s near impossible to treat them from the outside—so I go inside,” he says flatly, and turns the wheel that opens the doors to the outside world.

“WOOO! THE REAL SKY!” comes Luffy’s laugh, and I smile, and then frown in an instant.

_ Damn. His cheer is still too infectious. _

“So what are we going to do with these jokers?” Zoro asks, kicking Mr. Nine to the ground, ignoring the subsequent grumble coming from both of them.

“If you want my suggestion, throw them overboard,” Crocus says uninterestedly, and Zoro makes to do just that.

_ Splash! _

I feel a bit bad for Vivi, watching her swim away, but she isn’t a Strawhat quite yet, so I direct my attention back to Crocus, who grumbles about how he and Laboon will survive for another fifty years yet.

Luffy, on the other hand, settles against a rock face near the lighthouse as we walk onto land, watching Laboon. “Fifty years, huh…? That sure is a long time to wait,” he murmurs, and Sanji scoffs.

“Think about it, and you’ll have your answer. They’re dead.” He gruffs, and I wince. He’s righter than he thinks he is.

Usopp rounds on Sanji and pounds the table, huffing vehemently. “You don’t know that—who knows, maybe they’re still out there trying to make their way back to Laboon! It’s a heartbreaking story, you cynical cook!”

I chuckle at Usopp’s wish—he’s also more right than he knows.

“And I’m afraid reality is crueler than that,” Crocus adds, and my mood plummets. “Those pirates fled the Grand Line scared for their lives.”  _ Lie. _

I can’t help it. My temper flares, and I stand up abruptly, shocking the four sitting at the table.

“That’s a lie,” I say darkly, and Crocus turns around with a raised eyebrow. Normally, I would have more tact. Normally, I would think more about what I was saying—but Brook becomes an irreplaceable part of the Strawhats in the future, and I won’t stand idly by while the name of his crew becomes slandered. Not while I can have a say in it.

“You’re talking about the Rumbar Pirates, aren’t you?” I ask softly, dangerously, and Crocus’ second eyebrow rises to join the first.

“You know the name—?”

“I remember hearing stories of a pirate ship that caught an incurable disease,” I breathe, not letting him finish. “I remember the stories of these pirates and their first mate turned captain, after the original captain took his infected crewmates and left the Grand Line in an attempt to quarantine themselves away.”

Crocus’ eyes widen at that, and a rush of sick triumph rises in me, even as I feel the waves of despair radiating from Laboon, only a few moments away.

“The stories of the “Humming Swordsman Brook” and his crew of musical pirates… that disappeared without a trace after entering the Floridian Triangle,” I grit out, but my anger slowly recedes and I realize what I said.

I blanch and run a hand through my hair, sighing through my nose a bit anxiously.

“Just… those are only stories I’ve heard, anyway,” I finish lamely, wincing at the utterly shocked looks on everyone’s faces, save for Luffy, who looks decidedly content for some reason.

“So they didn’t abandon him, right?” He asks cheerfully, completely ignoring the tense air around him, and I stutter.

“Uh. I mean. Probably?”

“Then that means Laboon just has to wait a little longer, shishishishi,” He cackles, and turns to the aforementioned whale next to us. “HEY! LABOON! DID YOU HEAR THAT?” He bellows.

“WE’RE GONNA FIND YOUR FRIENDS FOR YOU AND BRING THEM BACK HERE! AND EVEN IF WE CAN’T FIND THEM—” He launches himself up, right to the top of the lighthouse and grins at Laboon. “When we finish our run through the Grand Line, we’re gonna come here and meet again, you hear?!”

A fierce grin adorns Luffy’s face, and I feel my chest swell with the determination radiating from Luffy. “You’re one of us now! So I promise you—WE’LL COME BACK!”

“ _ BWOOOOAHHHHHH!” _

I gasp.

_ Happiness. Trust. Promise. _

_ Okay. _

...Did that really just happen?

I go over the scenario in my head,  _ again _ , but I still can’t come up with anything.

That was completely different from the script.

_ Luffy didn’t fight Laboon with Merry’s mast. He made a different promise. _

I can’t believe it.

My thoughts are interrupted though, by Usopp’s voice.

“Geez, I never could’ve pegged you for the fierce type, Neo,” Usopp says weakly from where he’s sitting, shaking his head with a nervous chuckle, and I blink and bow my head frantically towards Crocus.

“I am  _ so _ sorry. I don’t even know what came over me, I just—” I babble, but Crocus raises his hand to stop me, a curious look on his face.

“Don’t. I think you just saved Laboon’s life—” he gestures vaguely towards Luffy’s direction, who seemed to be dragging along multiple buckets of paint. “Besides—I’m surprised it took you this long to break, not with your devil fruit abilities.”

I blink.

“Huh?”

My crew blinks.

“HUH?”

Crocus rubs the back of his head confusedly. “Did I say something wrong?”

* * *

It takes a minute or so, but we explain to Crocus my specific situation, and he hums.

“I see. So you’re completely missing your memories about your past, but remember everything else you’ve learned and heard?” He clarifies, and I nod.

He runs his hand over his chin, looking down, and then looks at me. “Well, that sounds like a devil fruit ability to me—specifically, the ‘World-World Fruit’.”

The crew and I look at each other in confusion, so he explains. “It’s a paramecia-type fruit that lets the user learn everything about someone or something, its past history, and sometimes even its future—the ‘World’ part attributing itself to something about different timelines or something like that.” He offers blandly, and I blink.

“I don’t know enough about it to tell you why or how it affected your memories, but it looks like you tapped into  _ something _ from my memories and attributed it to the stories you’ve heard before,” he finishes, and I’m left to ruminate on that for a minute.

It’s… definitely not what I have, but for an in-universe explanation…

Nami tilts her head next to me, cupping her mug with a frown. “I don’t know, doesn’t that mean that she would know all about  _ us _ then?” She asks, and there’s hint of discomfort coming from her, enough that I wince.

“But she did know a lot about the Grand Line, Reverse Mountain—hell, even when we were running from the marines, she knew they were coming before we did,” Zoro intervenes, and that suspicion is coming back two-fold from what it was before. Not that I blame him.

Sanji looks torn, probably from the discomfort of me knowing  _ his _ past, and the flip side trying to defend me.

Usopp has the least to lose from this since he came from a peaceful background aside from his mother’s illness and pirate father, but he still looks uneasy.

Honestly, it hurts that they’re so weary—I hate to be the thing that causes discomfort to them, not when my only goal is to help them… but I understand.

But there’s no way they’ll accept that I’m from a different world. Not like this.

So, I tell them… parts of the truth.

“I can’t swim.”

Four heads turned to look at me with surprise.

“I don’t remember anything about myself—that much is true… but I won’t lie when I say that I knew things about you all before I met you.” I twiddle my thumbs together and look at the table.

“I don’t remember eating a devil fruit, but who knows? The things I know about you guys probably… aren’t common knowledge. At all. But I didn’t tell you because…” I sigh, and look up with apologetic eyes.

“I wanted to become your friend by my own merit. Not because I mysteriously knew your past, or because I already knew what you like, or what you don’t like. And I didn’t want to force myself on you guys because of it.”

It’s a complete truth there. All I need to do is see how they react. And hope I don’t get cast out because of it.

There’s a moment of silence… when Usopp pipes up.

“So… you know pretty much everything about us, then?” He asks hesitantly. I nod slowly, gauging their reactions as the four of them turn to look at each other, and then at me.

“You could have told us from the beginning,” Nami says finally, and I gape at her. A smile grows on her face. “You didn’t do anything to hurt us—that much is clear. But you’re one of us now, remember? So that means trusting us too.”

At my still shocked face, Zoro huffs. “We knew you were hiding something—just didn’t think it’d be a  _ devil fruit _ of all things,” he waves a hand vaguely in the air and dodges Nami’s swipe.

“What he  _ means _ , is that we were waiting for you to tell us yourself. And you did, just now.” She takes my still bandaged hand, and frowns at me.

“But that means you have to be truthful to us from here on out, okay?”

_ Being in shock is going to be a common thing while I travel with this crew, isn’t it? _

Nami blinks at the tears that start to run down my face, and I hiccup a laugh. “Yeah. Yeah—I promise.”

I smile, and it’s shared with the rest of the group, from Nami’s beaming face to Sanji’s smirk.

I didn’t tell them the whole truth—but the sentiment is still there. They know that I know things about them now, and it’s honestly more than I thought they’d be willing to take.

For now, it was enough.

* * *

Once my tears were dried (deja vu?) and Luffy was finishing up his uh, crude painting on Laboon’s head, Nami turns to me with an impish grin—one I already know the answer to.

“No, I can’t predict lottery numbers,” I say lightly, and she turns to face away with me with a disappointed huff. It makes me laugh aloud, though not enough to notice Sanji’s stiffness out of the corner of my eye as he brings over the cooked elephant blue fin for us to eat.

I know exactly why… and it’s something I need to address.

“I know everyone’s past,” I say loudly, drawing all of their attention. “but that doesn’t mean that it changes anything.”

I look towards Sanji discreetly and catch his eye.

“I don’t know a damn thing about you guys, because you haven’t told me yet. And you better believe that I won’t breathe a word about the things I’ve got up here to anybody else,” I tap my head with a smirk that bleeds into a genuine smile.

“You’re all my nakama. That’s all that matters.”

With my speech done, I see a genuine smile from Sanji, and pat myself on the back for a job well done.

Crocus walks out of the door of the lighthouse with something in his hand—something I recognize immediately.

“Is that a Log Pose?” I question, blinking curiously at the hanging needle.

“Log pose? What’s that?” Nami inquires from behind me, and I point at Nami’s compass, which has been swirling in circles for a while now.

She screeches. “MY COMPASS! IT’S BROKEN!”

I stick a finger in my ear at her voice and hasten to calm her down. “Hold on, hold on, it’s not broken—that’s what the Log Pose is for.”

I point at the object in Crocus’ hands as he places it on the table for all of us to see, nodding at me with approval.

“She’s right. Normal compasses don’t work in the Grand Line—there are too many islands filled with magnetic minerals that cause abnormal magnetic fields,” he explains.

“You need a Log Pose, like this one, to direct you to the nearest island. The log pose resets every time you reach a new island, meaning that you have to wait until it gets its next destination before you continue sailing. Not to mention the fact that you can’t rely on the winds or the sea currents to guide you. Without a Log Pose, you won’t survive.”

Nami seems to wilt at the information, rubbing the back of her head. “I didn’t know…” she says hesitantly.

Usopp gripped the sides of his heads in despair. “At least you know now, Nami—yeesh, imagine if we left without getting swallowed by Laboon!”

She swallows heavily and nods slowly, biting her lip as she looks at the Log Pose in front of her. “Yeah…”

Crocus offers her the Log Pose, and she pauses.

“Huh?”

“Take it. You beginners don’t seem to have one, so I’ll offer you one as thanks for saving Laboon,” Crocus says dryly, and Nami takes it.

“Thank you so much,” she sighs, and looks happily at the Log Pose on her wrist. “With this, we’ll be able to navigate the Grand Line!”

Crocus nods with a slight smile, and gestures out at the sea before us. “No matter what route you take—they all eventually lead to the same final destination,” he says haltingly, eyeing Luffy, who was a bit busy stuffing his face with the fish Sanji had prepared.

“Laugh Tale,” he tilts his head. “It’s the very last island where Roger supposedly left his ultimate treasure—One Piece.”

The information is something I already knew—but hearing it from one of the Pirate King’s own crew makes it all the more  _ real _ .

“Supposedly?” Usopp raises an eyebrow, and Crocus laughs aloud.

“Supposedly! I won’t say anything more, you darn pirates,” he taunts good-naturedly, and jabs a thumb at our captain. “Besides, something tells me that your captain wouldn’t be so pleased if I told you anything.”

To prove his point, Luffy glares fiercely at Usopp who quails backward with frantic apologies, causing the rest of us to laugh.

“Phew! Alright, I’m done eating, let’s go—”

“YOU ATE ALL OF IT?!” Sanji yelps and warning bells go off in my head.

“Shitty rubber captain, I wanted Nami-swan and Neo-chan to have the best of it—!” Sanji swipes his leg towards Luffy in order to kick him in the face—

Just as I swipe the Log Pose off of Nami’s wrist so it wouldn’t shatter.

Nami blinks at the snatched Log Pose in my hands, and the trajectory of where Sanji’s leg and Luffy’s face had been, and with a scary smile on her face, punts the two of them into the sea.

“GO SOAK YOUR HEADS!” She hisses down at them, and I only breath a sigh of relief as I hand her back the Log Pose, answering her questioning look with, “Devil Fruit Foresight.”

She shoots me a thankful look and takes it back, and I notice something on the ground where Luffy had once been.

It was a second Log Pose—most likely the duo’s from before, and I pick that up gently, looking it over. It looks untouched, and I run over the scenario in my head again.

Another thing changed. Crocus came out with the Log Pose first this time, and now we have a second one…

“Hey Nami—” I toss the second log pose to her and her brows furrow in confusion. “Neo, where did you—?”

“I think Luffy dropped it. It’s most likely from the people from before that we punted off the side of Merry’s deck,” I say with a frown.

“We can probably expect them to be back in—”

_ BOOM. _

I look up at the sky, wondering what deity up there was trying to test my patience. “Now, I guess.”

Usopp buries his face into his hands.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey there! Welcome to the end of chapter two!  
> Thanks again so much for reading if you made It this far. I hope this fic is proving to be at least a little interesting to you.  
> Once again, there are a couple things I gotta note!
> 
> One: Neo does NOT have a devil fruit. The World-World Fruit Crocus mentions is made up fruit I thought up on the spot to have a plausible "in-universe explanation" for Neo's "abilities."
> 
> Two: Neo can't swim. Nothing to do with devil fruits!
> 
> Three: Honestly this fic is practically writing itself. Un'beta'd and whatnot, so there might be changes in plot and details in the future that I'll go back and re-edit since I'm just going with the flow. Like I said before! Take this fic with a grain of salt.
> 
> Four: Once again, if you plan to stick around, I hope you have fun! I'm having lots of fun just writing this. Thank you so much again for reading!


	3. New Friends, and New Foes

This part, thankfully, goes pretty much the same way as it did in the manga, save for a few quick explanations to Luffy about “my” devil fruit abilities.

_ (“Oh, so it’s a mystery fruit!” _

_ “N...no, Luffy, it’s called the World-World fruit. I can see into a person or object’s past or future.” _

_ “Ehh… so it’s a mystery power?” _

_ “...Sure, let’s go with that.”) _

Nami successfully puts Miss Wednesday and Mr. Nine at our mercy by promising to help them return to their village of Whiskey Peak, and with a map Crocus lends us (waving goodbye to a happy whale), it serves to be mostly smooth sailing from here. At least...

I bite my lip at that thought.

Actually.

“Nami, call it devil fruit Foresight,” I start, watching as she tenses from where she’s looking out at the sea, “but you might want to keep a firm eye on the Log Pose while we’re out here.”

_ “So you can see into our future, right? How much can you see?” Nami questions as we’re loading Merry with some extra materials that could come in handy, and I frown. How much to tell her? _

_ “Enough that if I think it’s important to call out, it might be life or death,” I say eventually, and giggle a bit at the horrified expression on her face. _

“...Why?” her voice comes hesitantly, and I start to answer—

“Hey, is it snowing?”

And promptly send her a flat look. “I think we just drifted off course.”

Silence.

“WHAT?!”

* * *

Thankfully,  _ thankfully _ , we manage to avoid the utter madness that is weather on the Grand Line, the ice storm we narrowly avoided becoming further and further a thing of the past. With her lesson learned, Nami checks the log pose every few seconds with a fervor, and I internally thank my past self for reading One Piece and internalizing enough information to be useful in situations like this.

Mr. Nine and Vi—Miss Wednesday, are leaning against the mast with tired expressions, one I can firmly agree with, if my aching limbs had any say in it.

_ Jeez, I should build my muscle mass if stuff like this wears me out. I need to be everything  _ but _ a walking stick by the time we get to Sabaody... _

Beside me, a napping Zoro finally stretches himself awake, and I whack him upside the head, causing him to yelp in surprise more than pain.

“Oi, what was that for?!”

“For sleeping on the job, first mate,” I say dryly, and he huffs at me irritably.

I roll my eyes at his behaviour. “Be glad it’s me, and not Nami that hit you. You’re lucky I didn’t want all of us to be tired from dealing with the elements of the Grand Line, or else you’d be sporting more than a few bumps on the head,” I poke at his green hair and he sighs, before catching sight of our two guests.

“...Huh. When’d you two get here?”

“YOU JUST NOTICED?!”

Ignoring them, he turns to look at me with a raised eyebrow and I shake my head.  _ We’ll talk later, _ I try to convey, and his eyes narrow a little before he stands and walks towards the Baroque Works duo.

“You know, that reminds me. What did you two say your names were again?” He asks pointedly, dryly, and they gulp.

“M-my name is Mr. Nine…”

“I am Miss Wednesday…”

“Right. Those names have been stuck in my head for a while,” he remarks nonchalantly, and plants his hands on his hips, eyeing them. “They sound real familiar…”

Mr. Nine and Miss Wednesday inch together in fear at the almost demonic look on Zoro’s face.

“Or maybe not.”

despite myself, I chuckle. Blunt as Zoro can be, that was almost  _ subtle _ .

I catch his eye as he leaves the relieved duo and I tilt my head towards the back of the boat. He nods, and I wave vaguely towards Nami when she sends a curious glance in our direction.

When we arrive at the back of Merry and out of earshot, he turns to me with a raised eyebrow.

“So. You know who those two are, right?” He asks plainly, and I nod my head.

“Yeah. If my Foresight is right, you have history with the group they’re associated with: Baroque Works, right?”

Zoro inclines his head in confirmation, before looking up at me again, mouth set in a firm line. “Alright future seer, what’s ahead of us?”

I blink. “You don’t want to tell the rest of the crew?”

“Not with those two still on board. Between you and me, we should be able to handle it fine,” he finishes. I gape at him.

“Zoro— _ I can’t fight _ ,” I stress heavily, and he shoots me a curious look.

“So you’re saying there’s going to be a fight?” He says interestedly, and this time,  _ I’m _ the one that shoots him a raised eyebrow.

“Zoro, with Luffy around? There’s  _ always _ going to be a fight,” I deadpan, and he barks a laugh.

“Fair enough!”

He folds his arms and looks back out towards the front of Merry where Luffy and Usopp were talking animatedly about something I couldn’t hear from here, and where Miss Wednesday and Mr. 9 were whispering conspiratorially at each other.

“They’re going to try and get us drunk and unsuspecting. If we let things run its course…” I close my eyes and try to remember what exactly happens during the “party” the bounty hunters throw the Strawhats.

“...Nami pretends to get drunk while she snatches all of their money,” I start, ignoring the way Zoro growls out a “money-obsessed-witch”. “Usopp, Sanji, and Luffy all actually fall for it though. Without my intervention, you would have been the only one fighting them,” I finish.

Zoro has a considering look on his face as he thinks about the odds.

“I know Luffy doesn’t like spoilers, but we need to be wary of a couple of things,” I say lowly, but he cuts me off with a hand.

“Hold on. I’ve noticed something about your foresight,” he states, and I blink in confusion.

“What’s that?”

His frown isn’t suspicious, just confused. “When you talk about the future, you’re almost never in it yourself, or at least you never mention yourself,” he states bluntly, and I realize that  _ oh. _

He’s right.

Since my knowledge is of a story told  _ without me in it _ , I haven’t included myself in my predictions. Thankfully, there’s an easy fix for that.

“There are limits to the future I can see,” I say finally, crossing my arms and leaning against Merry’s railing with a sigh. “I can see the future of one person as I come into contact with them, and only so far  _ into _ said future. The bad thing about it is that I can’t see the future for  _ myself _ .”

His eyes widen, and I’m sure he’s drawn the conclusion of it being connected with my own missing memories. Unwillingly, I’ve crafted a tale of a fruit that steals the memories and future of a person, while in return, giving them access to everyone  _ else’s _ .

“It’s probably how I got the fruit. Unless the owner is with someone else, their own life is pretty much forfeit.”

“...hm.”

There’s a silence between us now that lasts for a moment or two, before Zoro speaks up again.

“...So what did you need me to know?” He prompts, and I jolt from my own musings.

I open my mouth to speak—and then pause, frowning.

I wanted to tell him about Vivi, and the situation revolving around her and Alabasta… but avoiding Crocodile’s head hunt for us could mean that we don’t get around to saving Alabasta at all.

I had no doubt that Luffy would want to go there anyway if he heard Vivi’s plea, along with everyone else in the crew, but time is a delicate thing—it’s already showed how fiercely a butterfly can flap its wings and change the script, no matter how small.

I  _ have _ to play this by ear.

So instead, I look him in the eye and say, “there are going to be some key players showing up tonight. It’s a little blurry since it’s further in the future, but the higher numbers and days from Baroque are going to show up—and compared to the small fry bounty hunters we come across at first, they’re going to be a bit more difficult.”

I bite the nail of my thumb in thought, chewing it absentmindedly. “Other than that, we should be fine. It’s a relatively easy fight for you, anyway. Now—”

I’m interrupted by shouts from the front of Merry, and we both peer forward, catching the tail end of Luffy’s cheer.

“It’s Whiskey Peak!”

“Thank goodness we arrived safely…”

Zoro and I look at each other, and nod in tandem.

_ It’s go time. _

* * *

With Mr. Nine and Miss Wednesday’s abrupt departure, we’re able to tell the rest of the crew what was going to happen, Usopp and Sanji—while put out—nodding seriously. Nami looks curious, while Luffy… well.

_ “Hey, no spoilers! I like adventures because they’re surprising!” _

The rest of the crew  _ did _ like spoilers though, so we voted to keep him inside the galley as we neared the port of Whiskey Peak to talk about a plan.

“So it’s all a set-up to kill us?” Usopp asks nervously, hands jittering as he looks out at the cactus-shaped island.

“And they’re going to lure us in with booze, food, and beautiful girls?” Sanji leans forward with a perverse glint in his eyes, and I none-too-lightly push his face back towards the railing.

“Yep. Like I told Zoro the rest becomes blurry after that point, but you guys are going to be in for a fight. They’re weaklings,” I reassure Usopp, who doesn’t look reassured at all.

“But they’re  _ bounty hunters _ . And you said that the spikes on the cactus mountains are actually tombstones of all the people they’ve killed?! How creepy is that?!” he wails despairingly, and I pat his shoulder in apology. “Can’t we just leave this island and go somewhere else?”

“Nope,” Nami pipes in. “We have to wait for the log pose to reset before we go anywhere, so why not use this opportunity to take some treasure,” she leans in excitedly, a glint in her eyes directly paralleling Sanji’s own perverse glint from before.

Usopp slinks depressingly into the ground, and I put in my two cents.

“It’s really not them we need to worry about anyway. Foresight showed me that Zoro is easily able to defeat all of them in one fell swoop, so with all of us attacking, we should be able to bet them in more than half the time it took him,” I frown, waving off Zoro’s grunt.

“The people we need to worry about are the higher-ups that show up later tonight. I don’t know their names, but one can change the weight of… herself and her weapons, I think, and the other one is basically a living bomb,” I say lowly, and the crew collectively grimaces.

“Anything further than that is too blurry for me to say clearly,” I lie.

So, I played up Mr. Five and Miss Valentine’s skills up a bit, but they become quite a nuisance during Little Garden. I’m hoping Zoro or Sanji ends up taking them out of commission, at least enough to hinder them if we come to blows there.

It’s good I stopped there though, because Merry pulls up right at the dock of Whiskey Peak—and we’re treated to waves and cheers of bounty hunters, and Igaram.

The five of us send each other quick glances and smile at the crowd—Sanji swooning over the women—and I grab Luffy before we disembark, laughing along as they tell us the details about the “celebration” they were planning on throwing us.

_ This is it. _

I shoot Nami a thumbs up and she sends me a discreet wink back.

Hopefully, we’ll be able to make out unscathed.

* * *

The night passes by uneventfully (well, I say uneventfully, with the sounds of happy music and cheering practically deafening me as I sip some water and nibble on rice), and I watch carefully as Nami outdrinks the nun (who, If I remember correctly, was drinking barley tea.)

Sanji was sitting on a couch surrounded by women (avoiding the alcohol, thankfully) while Usopp and Zoro were lounging together amicably, sipping their beer.

Luffy was stuffing his face with food, just like I remember, and I chose to stay back near a wall, neglecting to eat or drink too much.

  
  


_ “Hey, don’t you want some beer? You aren’t a lightweight, are you?” Zoro raises an eyebrow at me curiously, and I shake my head with a small smirk. _

_ “I don’t know. No memories, remember?” I tap my head, and he huffs irritably. “But I don’t think the smell of alcohol is agreeing with me. I just don’t think I’d like the taste,” I murmur thoughtfully, watching Zoro shrug and leave me be. _

  
  


I smile at the memory from just a little earlier. A pirate who doesn’t like alcohol. Isn’t that funny?

I pause in my musings as a realization hits me.

_ Getting drunk off the atmosphere though… that’d probably be a different story _ .

Eventually though, the music winds down and one by one my crewmates start to nod off—or so the bounty hunters think, anyway.

I myself settle against the wall and close my eyes, listening as the footsteps from the Baroque Works members fade further and further away, and finally, with the click of the door, the room is empty.

Silence.

“...Roll call?” I intone dryly, opening my eyes, and watch as four out of my five crewmates call out or wave. Luffy, stomach bloated and napping on the floor, snoozes peacefully away.

“We’ll have to wake him up so he doesn’t think we killed the entire village,” I grimace, tapping Luffy lightly with my hand and sighing when he only continues to snore.

“Why would he think—?” Usopp starts to ask, but I send him a  _ look _ and he acquiesces.

“Fair point.”

Nami walks over with a peaceful smile—one that always begets pain—and I back away from Luffy nervously.

“Allow me.”

_ SMACK! _

“Ow, Nami, what was that for?!” Luffy jumps from the punch, clutching his head with a pout.

“Luffy, we’re about to be attacked by a lot of bounty hunters so we need you to be awake, okay?” she asks saccharinely sweet, effectively shutting Luffy up, though not without a confused noise.

“Huh? Why would they attack us? They were so nice!”

I offer Luffy a hand to stand. “They’re after your bounty, captain. They wanted to lure us into a false sense of security by throwing us a party.”

The pout on Luffy’s face grows, but we’re running out of time so I nod at the top of the stairs where a door is. “I think that leads outside to the top of the building. We could possibly get the jump on them if we’re quick enough,” I theorize, and we all nod at each other, when—

“...Huh?” The door opens.

We stare at a man—a basic background character who never got a name I reckon—and he stares back.

Silence.

“MR. EIGHT! THEY’RE AWAKE!” He shouts, looking panicked and alarmed, and then effectively knocked out as Sanji delivers a quick kick to the head.

I groan.

“Alright. Forget the plan—” I start, but a fist comes flying past me, interrupting what I was about to say.

“GOMU-GOMU NO—PISTOL!”

_ CRASH _ .

The wall separating us from the bounty hunters splits open, revealing about a hundred or so gaping Baroque Works employees, lead by a gaping Vivi, Igaram, and Mr. Nine.

Luffy stands in the forefront of us, grinning widely with his fists on his hips, and I can’t help but chuckle.

“Captains orders I guess,” I sheepishly smile at Nami and Usopp’s dropped jaws. Beside me, Sanji and Zoro grin wickedly.

“I’m full and ready to fight… so who’s first?!” Luffy barks.

I sigh.

_ Here we go. _

* * *

What ensues next is complete  _ chaos _ .

After the bounty hunters got over their shock, most of them pulled out a multitude of weapons—Igaram blows on his saxophone, and the guns in his hair peek out, firing like shotguns.

Luffy jumps in front of me, Usopp, and Nami, taking the brunt of the blow and sending the bullets right back at the bounty hunters, while Zoro and Sanji jump easily out of the way, descending into the mass of hunters and starting to tear them a new one.

“Five.”

“Hah,  _ six _ .”

“Eigh—hh—t.”

“What?! You’re—huff—cheating, dirty moss-head! Ten.”

“ _ Haahh? _ As if I’d  _ cheat _ , moron cook. Fift—hk—teen.”

“You have three—get out of my  _ way _ —swords!  _ Sixteen. _ ”

They also seem to be keeping count of the number of hunters they take down. I drag a hand down my face at their antics which are admittedly not surprising. At least they aren’t fighting.

“HOW DARE YOU ATTACK A WOMAN, YOU BEAST?!”

I stand corrected.

“Neo—watch your left!”

I gasp and duck under a punch aimed in my direction, skipping backwards and meeting back to back with Usopp, who is flinging attacks left and right.

“I just realized, you don’t have a weapon, do you?!” Usopp grits his teeth as he dodges a swipe of a sword with a yelp.

I punch a man in the basic area of his stomach, frowning as it only makes him stumble back a little with a scoff and a growl.

“No, I—eek—don’t!” The man raises his sword to slice down on me, but I swiftly kick up a pile of dirt into his eyes, elbowing his ribs harsher than I did my punch.  _ That _ seems to get him to wheeze, and I grab his sword out of his hands and slash wildly, managing to cut him and send him to the floor.

I hiss at the sight of blood coming out of him, but the cut itself doesn’t look too bad, so I focus on the other attackers that are coming our way. “I’m not a fighter—I wasn’t expecting us all to go straight into this battle,” I admit, slashing another guy, this time a gunner.

“Don’t worry Neo-chan, I’ll protect you~!” Sanji intervenes smoothly with a powerful roundhouse kick to the bounty hunter’s bodies, effectively catching at least four or five, and sending them straight into the wall of the building behind us with a flourish—and a crash. I breath out a sigh of relief.

“Jeez, you’re holding that katana all wrong,” Zoro appears by my side almost magically, flicking my hands and glaring at the grip I’ve got on the random sword.

I send him a despairing look. “Zoro, not all of us have intense sword training. I don’t remember if I’ve ever even thrown a punch in my life.” The sword in my hand is heavy and unyielding when I swing it. There’s too much weight to it that I’m not used to, and it’s uncomfortable.

“Then we’ll have to get you up to da—MOVE!” His arm catches me by the neck as he drags both us and Usopp down—Sanji grabbing Nami’s hand and tugging her down as well from where she was fending off a group of men with a—was that a broom stick? Huh.

As we hit the ground, a leg, Luffy’s leg, comes zipping past us, colliding into the remaining few of the standing bounty hunters and knocking them aside,

“Damnit idiot, warn us before you do that!” Zoro hisses, pulling me up roughly while Usopp rubs his arm with a grimace. Sanji helps Nami up gently, brushing away the dirt she starts to complain about, and snaps at Zoro.

“Again! One of these days you’re going to pull her arm out of its socket, idiot swordsman!”

“She’s the one not getting up fast enough, don’t blame me for that!”

“I CAN AND WILL, BASTARD!” Cue the fighting,  _ again _ .

I can  _ feel _ the sweatdrop making its way down my face as I watch the two bicker, but something’s bothering me. There are numerous bodies around us, unconscious, bruised and battered, but...

_ Huh. Actually, where is—? _

I gasp as a hand wraps around my arms and I’m pulled aside by Vivi, a long knife resting against my throat.

“Don’t move! If one of you takes even a step, I’ll slash her throat,” Vivi says darkly, Karoo standing tall by her side, along with Igaram.

_ Shit. _

I look nervously down at the blade held against my throat, and then at my crewmates.

Luffy stamps a foot on the ground. “HEY! Give me back my nakama!” he growls, winding up a fist, only to pause as Vivi tightens her grip around my wrists, twisting it so I let out a gasp.

This scene is vaguely familiar, though it was Luffy in my position and only Zoro. Now though…

“Hey, what’s over there?”

“Huh?”

_ CLONK CLONK. _

My jaw drops as the two keeping me hostage fall to the ground with a  _ clunk _ , Nami smirking genially while tapping the handle of the broomstick against her shoulder. “For trained professionals, they really are gullible, aren’t they?” She says brightly, tugging me over back towards the rest of the Strawhats, but there’s something—someone—clapping behind us, a slow, bored sound.

My jaw closes with a  _ click _ .

“Hah? Who are you?” Luffy turns around and tilts his head confusedly at the newcomers—and their faces are ones I recognize, this time.

“Losing to a lowly band of pirates… shame on you, Mr. Eight,” Mr. Five walks forward with a sneer, kicking the dirt beneath his feet with a disgusted expression. Miss Valentine giggles sickeningly sweetly as she follows alongside him.

“Ohhh, don’t be like that, Mr. Five! It’s only natural that people of  _ their _ rank aren’t up to snuff like we are,” she sighs.

Sanji leaps to his feet with a dazed look in his eyes. “Wow, another beautiful woman!”

I shoot him a glare, and he shrinks back a little, properly chastised.

The woman in the lemon dress cackles long and loud, grinning wickedly at the three behind us as they stand warily.

“Are you just here to laugh at us?” Igaram grits out, and Mr. Five scoffs.

“Hardly. We’re here on… important business.”

“Very important. Something about, oh, I don’t know… a certain monarchy invading our ranks…” Miss Valentine’s voice comes out lowly, and all of us watch as Vivi and Igaram stiffen.

Miss Valentine’s disposition is sunny, and I can feel the stares of my crew bouncing from the newcomers to the two behind us. “You wouldn’t happen to know anything about it, would you?”

Her grin, impossibly, widens even more. “...Igaram, Commander of the Royal Guard of Alabasta, and Princess Nefertiti Vivi of Alabasta?”

“YOU’RE A PRINCESS?!” Five voices shout in unison at Vivi, who stares at Mr. Five and Miss Valentine, trembling.

“And why, pray tell, are you not surprised, Neo?” Nami asks dangerously, and I sweat nervously.

“It… wasn’t important at the time?”

“WASN’T IMPORTANT?!”

“We  _ really _ need to fix your priorities on what’s important, Neo…”

A scoff. “What a  _ rowdy _ bunch, Mr. Five. Can we just get to killing them already?” We pause at Miss Valentine’s voice, and Igaram steps ahead with a furious look.

“I will not let you harm her—Igarappapa!” A torrent of bullets rain down on them from Igaram’s attack, but the two of them jump easily out of the way, and Mr. Five picks at his nose.

“Shit, watch out! He’s the one who’s a living bomb, stay away from his projectile boogers!” I hiss.

“Not on my watch—!” Usopp fires a pachinko ball at the booger that Mr. Five launched, catching it midair as it explodes, and I cheer internally.

“Luffy,” Nami calls, “I’m going to look for some treasure. Take care of them, okay?”

Luffy shoots her a grin. “Got it! Zoro!”

“Aye, captain.”

* * *

In the blink of an eye, a punch and a sword slice later, Igaram and Vivi stare in amazement at the triumphant and very pleased Luffy and Zoro, each dropping their respective targets to the floor.

“A...amazing…” Vivi breathes, and I smile, holding Sanji back as he writhes angrily at Zoro for injuring the woman.

“I didn’t know you could find pirates this strong at the beginning of the Grand Line…”

“Oh, you probably can’t,” I muse offhandedly, and Vivi stares at me in shock.

“Pardon?”

I incline my head towards a laughing Luffy and huffing Zoro as they walk towards us, and then at the blonde in my arms. “These three are the strongest people I know,” I smile fondly.

“Beautiful Neo-chan, you think I’m strong?!” Sanji immediately stops his rant and cuddles up to me now that he realizes who’s arms are around him, which is followed by Nami swiftly conking him upside the head and dragging him away to help her carry some of the loot she found while Luffy and Zoro were fighting back to the Merry.

“They’re a bit wacky, but they’re reliable,” I hum happily. Igaram and Vivi look at each other incredulously and seem to have a silent conversation before Igaram turns to me with fervor.

“I have a request,” he says urgently, ignoring Vivi’s shout of “Igaram!”. I regard them carefully.

With the script changed again, I’m thankful nothing too much has changed. Like before, it just seems like the order of events was changed—before, Igaram told Zoro Vivi’s true identity and sparked a deal with him and Nami. Now Vivi was here with them, and Igaram was most likely about to strike the same deal. I look to Luffy, who tilts his head.

“Huh? Oh. Sure, go ahead,” he says nonchalantly.

Igaram bows his head to the ground, Vivi frowning heavily and urging him to stand again.

“Please protect the princess. With how many Baroque Works employees you took out, plus the elimination of Mr. Five and Miss Valentine… I’m afraid that it’s highly probable that they will send others for your heads immediately,” he explains, and the rest of us exchange concerned glances.

“When… when you say our heads,” Usopp starts hesitantly.

“You will most likely be hounded by the strongest members of Baroque Works because you know the organization, hounded until you are silenced.” Igaram finishes gravely, and Usopp swallows, knees shaking.

“...Oh.”

Vivi looks away with a guilty look on her face.

“I beg of you—please bring her highness back home, to Alabasta!” He urges.

“Ehh, an escort mission? How about a billion beli for our fee?” Nami interjects brightly, and both Vivi and Igaram’s moths fall open. 

“A BILLION?!”

I wave a hand at Nami with a frown. “Probably not going to happen, Nami.”

I eye the large bag she’s carrying on her back, spotting a few bills of beli peeking out of the top, along with Sanji following behind her with a couple of boxes, probably containing foodstuffs.

Nami pouts at me as she drops the bag on the ground in front of her. “And why not? Is this your Foresight again?”

“Foresight?” Vivi inquires curiously. “I thought you had no skills?”

I jolt forward at the blunt, unintentional jab—while she’s right,  _ she didn’t have to say it like that. _

“Yes and no, Nami. Vivi is the princess of Alabasta. And right now? Alabasta is in a state of rebellion and civil war.” I sigh and lean again a wall.

“Baroque Works, the people we just fought, are working to conquer Alabasta. They’ve been inciting and luring citizens into believing that their country, that the monarchy, needs to be liberated and freed from their greedy clutches,” my face scrunches up in disgust. “They’re falling right into Baroque Works, and Mr. Zero’s trap.”

My crewmates are quiet at that, Nami’s face looking sad. I turn to look at Vivi for confirmation, and she nods, looking shocked.

“That’s… all true, but how did you know that? I had to infiltrate Baroque Works themselves with Igaram to get that information, how on earth—?”

“Mystery sight!” Luffy laughs, holding a meaty bone that he got from… somewhere… Vivi still looking baffled.

I chuckle lightly. “I have a devil fruit ability that lets me see into the pasts of the people I meet, along with a bit of their future,” I explain, and her and Igaram’s eyes widen.

“That’s—!”

“So that’s how you knew that we were going to ambush you?!”

I wink.

“Yup!”

Twin noises of disbelief escape the two people of Alabasta, and I snicker.

Luffy hums as he gobbles down meat. “So, who’s pulling the strings anyway?” He asks curiously.

“D—Don’t ask me that!” Vivi squeaks, frantically waving her hands in front of her.

“Hrk, if they’re trying to conquer a whole kingdom, I can only imagine their boss must be really strong…” Usopp looks like he’s going to be sick, and Nami agrees with a quick nod of her head.

“Uh-uh! It’s probably best we don’t know. This is just an escort mission, right? That’s all—”

“Aww what? But I want to fight this guy if he’s strong!” Luffy whines.

“They’re right! If I told you that the identity of Mr. Zero was Crocodile, one of the seven warlords of the sea, he would go for your head immediately!”

Silence.

“You just told us,” Zoro points out blandly.

Vivi slaps her hands to her mouth, eyes wide with apologies, and Igaram wilts. “Princess…”

“AAAGHHH NOW THEY’RE GOING TO BE AFTER US!” Usopp and Nami wail against each other in fear, and Usopp points an accusing finger at me amidst his tears.

“WHY DIDN’T YOU STOP HER?!”

I hold up my hands in a placating manner.

“Hey, Foresight’s a passive ability, I don’t check on it all the time,” I lie through my teeth.

In reality, I wanted to make sure that everyone would be… vaguely on board with helping Vivi. They needed to know who Mr. Zero was anyway, so all’s well that ends well. Probably.

Out of the corner of my eye, I see Mr. 13 and Miss Friday staring at all of us, a sketchpad in Mr. Thirteen’s paws.

“Was… was that an otter and a vulture?” Nami asks distantly, watching as the duo fly away together.

“That was Mr. Thirteen and Miss Friday,” I say blankly.

After a second of thought, “I think they just grabbed our mugshots and booked it. I wonder if the drawing was any good?” I comment mildly.

Usopp sinks to the floor in a heap of defeat.

Nami, in the meantime, shakes Vivi repeatedly, sobbing, “Why would you do that?! Now they’re going to have our faces so we can’t even  _ escape _ !”

“I’m so sorry… I’m so sorry…” Vivi repeats, tears dripping down her paralyzed face.

“Hear that? One of the seven warlords!”

“Yeah. Could be fun,” Zoro grins gleefully.

I look around the area with a frown, noticing a distinct lack of blonde hair. “Anyone know where Sanji went?”

“YOU CALLED FOR ME, NEO-CHAN~?”

I squeak as he skids to a stop in front of me, twirling in place. “I can’t believe I’m surrounded by three beautiful women. It’s a dream come true!” He sighs contentedly, and I tap his head firmly to get his attention.

“Where’d you go?” I inquire.

He snaps out of his reverie and nods towards Merry, who was pulled up to the forefront of the island. “I grabbed any and all food supplies I could from the buildings on the island,” he lists off genially, jabbing a thumb in Luffy’s direction.

“With that glutton, we’re going to need it.”

I hum and nod at that. With Luffy’s fast metabolism and appetite, it’s always a good thing to stock up on more food.

“Everyone: I have a plan!”

All of us freeze from whatever we’re doing and turn to the sound of the voice—which is Igaram… dressed to look like Vivi. Allegedly.

“Mister, you look great!” Luffy cackles.

“Igaram…?” Vivi asks hesitantly.

“Princess, please give me the eternal log pose to Alabasta,” he requests, and Nami stops from her sobbing.

“Eternal log pose? What’s that?”

Igaram looks at her in surprise. “You don’t know?”

When she shakes her head, Vivi hands over the eternal log pose for Igaram to take. “An eternal log pose is, to put it bluntly, a permanent log pose. Instead of directing and recording the next island’s magnetic field, the eternal log pose connects to just one and, as its name dictates, eternally points towards it.”

Nami’s gaze remains on the eternal log pose as he tucks it into his pocket, and he holds up four dummies.

“I’ll be heading out to see with these four props, in hopes that they follow me instead of you all,” he intones seriously. “Your highness…”

He turns to Vivi, and bows his head, Vivi’s breath stuttering.

“May we meet again, in our homeland.”

* * *

We watch Igaram set sail with the dummies, Vivi gazing proudly out at him as he goes.

“Man, that guy was a laugh,” Luffy swings his arms gleefully, as Nami and Sanji approach the shore with Merry.

“Yes. He may not look it, but Igaram is very reliable,” she says serenely, when—

_ BOOM. _

The sky lights up with flames, and Igaram’s boat is swallowed by the light.

My breath is taken away by the suddenness of it all. One minute the night sky was beautifully clear, and the next…

Everything was in flames.

“Oh my god…” Usopp whispers fearfully, and his sentiment is shared by the rest of us.

Luffy’s face darkens as he watches it all. “I liked that guy!”

“Nami, is the log pose set for the next island?!” Zoro shouts fiercely towards her, and Nami stumbles from her spot on Merry, checking her log pose.

“Y-yes!”

“Good. We’re setting sail,  _ now _ .” He throws a look at Sanji who nods, for once, not arguing, and disappears below deck.

I turn to look at Vivi, who is still watching the horizon, blood dripping from the hole she bit into her own lip, and all I can feel from her is  _ blankness. _

“Princess Vivi! Hurry, we have to move, or else—!” Nami, who had made her way to shore in order to take both of us who had lingered, pauses when she spots the blood on Vivi’s chin.

Quietly, she reaches out to embrace Vivi’s head, hugging her tight.

“ _ Don’t _ . We’ll get you to Alabasta, we’ll save your kingdom—those four guys? They saved the entirety of East Blue, with barely a moment's hesitation,” she reassures, and slowly, I feel the blankness in Vivi fade.

“These guys against a warlord of the sea?” she scoffs, loud and fierce. “ _ Not a problem _ .”

Slowly, I put a hand on Vivi’s shoulder.

“Vivi.”

She turns to look at me, and I smile gently.

“He’s not dead.”

The both of them—Nami and Vivi—stare at me in shock, and I don’t imagine the flicker of hope that sparks in Vivi’s eyes.

“What… how do you—?”

“Devil fruit Foresight, remember? I can see into the future,” I reassure, and the hope that blooms in Vivi’s eyes feel like a wave that crashes over me.

“ _ Thank you. _ Oh, thank you,  _ thank you _ —” she sobs, tears dripping down her cheeks, and I shake my head.

“Save it for later, okay? We need to get moving, and  _ fast _ . Don’t worry about Karoo,” I interject before Vivi can speak “He’s already on the boat.”

I usher them both forward, and catch Nami’s eye.

“Foresight?”

“Foresight.”

Nami breathes out a sigh of relief. “I keep forgetting you can do that. He’s really okay?”

“Yeah. I didn’t get too far into the vision, but he survives,” I wipe away the tears still trailing down Vivi’s face as we board Merry.

“Everyone ready to go?!” Zoro shouts, and with our answering call, we set sail—

Except.

“My. I’m so very glad you all survived. Careful of the rocks.”

_ Nico Robin. _

* * *

I bite my lip as the rest of my crewmates whirl around to stare at our… ‘guest’ sitting on Merry’s railing.

“Miss All Sunday—!” Vivi stutters, hands gripping into fists. “What are you doing here?!”

“Miss All Sunday…?” Nami repeats, and Vivi responds without taking her eyes off of Robin.

“She’s Mr. Zero’s partner, and the only person that knows his true identity. We followed her in order to learn it—”

Robin looks down cooly at us with a pleasant smile. “I let you follow me.”

“That was nice,” Luffy remarks.

Vivi snarls. “—But then you told him that we knew his identity!”

“Well  _ that _ wasn’t nice,” Luffy pouts.

Vivi shakes her head and defiantly glares up at her. “Your actions are contradictory—just what exactly do you want?!” she cries vehemently.

Robin tilts her head, cowboy-like hat moving along with her. “I was curious. You were so… ernest, about saving your homeland, that I had to help you,” she remarks, and then smiles. “It was pathetic.”

“How dare you look down on us?!” Vivi’s eyes flare with fury as she spits out at Robin.

_ Click. _

I look up at the sound of a gun cocking, and gape at Usopp and Sanji pointing the weapons in their hand straight at Robin.

“...Sanji, you know how to use that?”

“...no, but it looked like the lovely Vivi was in danger.”

Robin smiled. “My. I wouldn’t suggest pointing those things at me—” Hands erupted from the ground and walls, disarming and tossing them both to the lower deck of Merry.

“What—?!”

“A devil fruit?!”

“Usopp, Sanji!” I yelp, quickly reaching out to cushion Usopp’s fall, Luffy snapping out an arm to lift Sanji to his feet.

I breathe out a sigh as I catch Usopp—who is a lot lighter than he looks, does he  _ eat _ ?—waving away his thanks.

“Don’t mention it.” I look back up at Robin and she smiles at me—that fake, always fake smile.

_ Robin… _

My hands tighten into fists, and when a hand reaches out to take Luffy’s hat from behind him—

I snatch it away, eyes narrowing.

“Sorry. No one touches out Captain’s hat, especially not an enemy,” I say softly, returning the hat to Luffy, who takes it gratefully.

Robin regards me curiously, and I can’t help the tension rising in my shoulders as I stare her down.

In the future… she’s a friend, an irreplaceable person on this crew.  _ Nakama. _ But this is before she realizes that she wants to live, and because of that…

I can’t take any chances.

_ Play it by ear, Neo. _

“A princess protected by pirates… and the pirates hunted down for protecting the princess.” She hums thoughtfully, looking down at us. “Horrible, really… though what might be more horrible is your next destination.”

She points at the log pose on Nami’s wrist. “Your next destination is a place called “Little Garden”. And that place? ...Well. Baroque Works might not have to hunt you down at all.”

My crew tenses next to me, and so do I—for a different reason.

“Still, that would be no fun… so here.” She tosses something to Vivi who catches it, eyes widening as she realizes what it is.

“This is—!”

“It’s an eternal pose leading to the Island of Nothing,” Robin smiles. “It’s one stop before Alabasta, a route that not even our agents know about—so you’d be home free.”

Nami swaps glances with me and the eternal pose, looking utterly baffled. “So… is she helping us, or not?”

“Why do this?” Vivi asks, something torn in her expression.

“It’s probably a trap.” Zoro looks to me as well, but I stay silent.

Vivi doesn’t look up from the eternal pose in her hand, sweat dripping down her brow as she thinks on it.

And then—

“Who needs this thing?”

Luffy takes the eternal pose in Vivi’s hand—and  _ crushes _ it.

“LUFFY! WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT FOR?!” Nami screeches, about to kick his head, but I hold out a hand to stop her, looking at Luffy, who pouts, cheek puffing out.

“Why should she get to decide our course? No one gets to do that but  _ us _ !” he says empathetically, and I look softly at Vivi, who’s eyes widen at his words.

“But…” Nami notices it too deflates at that, as Luffy scoffs.

“Besides, I don’t like her. She blew up roller guy.”

“YOU IDIOT.”  _ WACK. _

I sigh. Can’t say I didn’t try.

Robin lets out a sigh— _ fake, fake, fake _ —and frowns. “That’s too bad. Well…” She steps off the railing and walks towards her ride.

“We’ll meet again, if you survive,” she waves.

“I hope not.”

With that, she boards her… turtle… thing, and rides off into the distance.

Beside me, Vivi crumbles to the floor, groaning. “Argh! I wish I knew what her game was!”

Nami sighs from her position on the other side of me, and looks towards me. “So, what does Foresight say about that, Neo?”

That catches the attention of the rest of the crew, all of them looking at me intently, and I grimace.

“...Just wait a minute,” I say, and feeling their stares, I look out to where Robin disappeared on her turtle, and then around the ship for any prying ears, or eyes.

The confusion is apparent from my crew, and once my inspection is done, I let myself lean against Merry’s railing, tension bleeding from my shoulders.

“That was, as you know, ‘Miss All Sunday’. But the rest of the world knows her as Nico Robin, also known as “the Devil Child” worth seventy-nine million beli,” I say lowly.

“Wh...seventy-nine million—?!” Usopp gapes at me, and Vivi clasps her hands together, trembling.

“That’s… that’s almost as high as Crocodile, who has an eighty-million bounty…” she breathes, and my crew pales at the admission.

I run a hand through my hair, grimacing.

“I can’t tell you if the eternal log pose would have led to The Island of Nothing. Luffy always breaks it,” I say with a small laugh, before I grow serious again.

“I’m sorry I didn’t say anything,” I wince and send an apologetic look to Vivi, who blinks.

“If Robin knew my devil fruit ability, I can firmly tell you that it would not end up well. I couldn’t give her any reason to think I’m anything more than a helpless member of this crew,” I say finally.

Vivi gives me a small smile, before looking down. “I’m the one who should be sorry. I shouldn’t even be here, putting you all in danger…” she whimpers, but she’s pulled up by Nami who flicks her forehead exasperatedly.

“What do you mean, ‘you shouldn’t be here’? You’re the one who got us into this mess—if you didn’t want to endanger us, you shouldn’t have told us your boss’ name!” she huffs, and then beams.

“Still—we’ve made a deal, and we’re not going to back out on it now, right Luffy?”

“Sanjiii I’m huungryyy!”

“What?! You just had your midnight snack a little bit ago, gluttonous rubber!”

“That was a little bit ago!”

“Oi Luffy, help me move these crates—”

Vivi watches as daily life continues on our ship with a baffled expression, a bead of sweat making its way down her face. “They’re… not concerned at all.”

I laugh, and then gesture at the crew as they mumbled and moved about the ship, the night shifting slowly into the day.

“Princess, you’re going to have to get used to this. On this ship? Bad thoughts don’t stay for too long,” I giggle, before looking out to the sea with a fond smile, listening to the age-old bickering of the Strawhats behind me, as Nami pulls Vivi to the side to talk about something.

Another leg of our journey completed…

I close my eyes.

_ “Gather up all of the crew, it’s time to ship out Bink’s Brew, _

_ Sea wind blows, to where, who knows? The waves will be our guide. _

_ O'er across the ocean's tide. Rays of sunshine far and wide. _

_ Birds they sing, of cheerful things, in circles passing by. _

  
  


_ Bid farewell to weaver's town, say so long to port renowned. _

_ Sing a song, it won't be long, before we're casting off. _

_ Cross the gold and silver seas, a salty spray puts us at ease, _

_ Day and night, to our delight, the voyage never ends. _

_ Gather up all of the crew, it's time to ship out Binks' brew. _

_ Pirates, we eternally are challenging the sea. _

_ With the waves to rest our heads, ship beneath us as our beds, _

_ hoisted high upon the mast, our jolly roger flies. _

_ Somewhere in the endless sky, stormy winds are blowing by, _

_ waves are dancing, evening comes, it's time to sound the drums. _

_ But steady men, and never fear, tomorrow's skies are always clear. _

_ So pound your feet and clap your hands 'til sunny days return. _

_ Yo hohoho, yo hohoho Yo hohoho, yo hohoho _

_ Yo hohoho, yo hohoho Yo hohoho, yo hohoho _

_ Gather up all of the crew, it's time to ship out Binks' brew. _

_ Wave goodbye, but don't you cry, our memories remain. _

_ Our days are but a passing dream, everlasting though they seem. _

_ Beneath the moon we'll meet again, the wind's our lullaby. _

_ Gather up all of the crew, it’s time to ship out Binks’ brew. _

_ Sing a song, and play along for all the oceans wide. _

_ After all is said and done, you'll end up a skeleton, _

_ so spread your tale from dawn 'til dusk upon these foamy seas…” _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heyo y'all, ATD here, welcome to the author's note!
> 
> ...Huh. Maybe I'll make this my own little version of Oda's SBS (I'm Taking Questions) if people actually, uh... have questions aout this world I'm building out of Oda's. Anyway.
> 
> To my readers, once again, thank you so much for reading. I'm shocked I've somehow managed to get this fic to 17k words, honestly. I think this might be the longest fic I've ever written...
> 
> ANYWAY.
> 
> On to the minor details I didn't fit into this chapter and other bits and bobbles!
> 
> So, I didn't mean it to start off this way, but somehow it's become an "every chapter is one full arc in the manga" type of situation here. For Loguetown I cut it down drastically (only around 3k words) since Neo wasn't involved in a lot of the action during Loguetown, but the amount of words in each current chapter has risen...  
> Chapter 2 has around 5k words, and Chapter 3 has a whopping 7k. These chapters just start writing themselves, I swear!!  
> Still, the size of these chapters are dependent on where Neo is in all the action... so in Chapter 2 and Chapter 3, since Neo is directly involved in literally _all_ the events, they're significantly longer. I can't tell the future (not like Neo can, though sometimes I wish my life was as simple as a manga) so the future chapters may be longer (or shorter!) as we go along.
> 
> Still with me? Cool!
> 
> I may have unintentionally started a naming scheme for the chapters... (New Beginnings, New Promises, New Friends, New Foes). This may become a problem in the future...
> 
> Neo doesn't like alcohol. Surprise surprise! I wonder if anyone can guess what other drink they hate with their entire being?


	4. New Situations

_“...these foamy seas…”_

I drag out the last few notes of the song, foregoing the last few lines of yo-ho’s in favor of letting the song end peacefully.

A round of claps sound from behind me.

“I didn’t know you sang, Neo,” a voice intones amusedly.

I gasp in surprise and whirl around, feeling my face flush at the faces of my crew and Vivi looking at me with awed expressions, Nami smiling at the forefront of them.

“You’re a really good singer, Neo! I recognize the song too, Shanks and his nakama sang that song a lot when they were at Makino’s bar!” Luffy leans forward with keen interest, tittering with child-like wonder. “Your version was a lot slower though, and prettier. You should be our musician!”

I blanch.

“Oh no, that wouldn’t be a good idea, Cap,” I hurriedly shake my head. “Sure I like singing, but I don’t know how to play any instruments. I’d be a horrible crew musician,” _and I’d be taking Brook’s rightful place, and that just doesn’t feel right,_ I tack on mentally.

From the beach chair he’s lounging on (where did he even get that? That definitely wasn’t there before), Luffy crosses his arms in thought. “Hmm… ok, I guess that makes sense. But you can still sing, so you’ll be our temporary musician for now until we find a new one,” he nods in finality.

I consider it for a moment.

 _I guess that’s not too bad. Brook still has his role, and I doubt Luffy will take ‘no’ for an answer…_ I sigh.

“Alright.”

“Great! Do you know any other songs?” Luffy asks excitedly, and I frown, wracking my head for any other songs I could remember from this universe.

Admittedly, Bink’s Sake was really the only song that I could think of that fit the bill for a song to sing on a journey. The rest were either songs from the anime title screens or their endings, and those definitely don’t fit the bill.

For our journey, we’d need something like… a sea shanty.

Amazingly, a few do come to mind, but...

“I do, but they’re not songs that sound good alone, I’m afraid,” I say apologetically, and Luffy pouts.

“Aw…”

“I’m sure it’d still sound amazing even if you sang it alone, Neo-chan! Oh, and by the way, who wants special drinks?” Sanji bursts out of the galley door with a tray of numerous drinks, gently handing Vivi and Nami one as he passes by, and then one to me.

Delightedly, I take it with eager hands and pat Sanji’s head with a beaming smile, taking note of how his face flushes, his visible eye widening as I take a sip. Swiftly blinking, he ushers away in his haste to give drinks to the rest of the crew, and I regard him curiously.

_Huh. Romantic and a casanova, but the minute he gets real physical affection, he shies away… that makes sense though, knowing his past…_

I frown. I’m no therapist, but part of me has always theorized that Sanji’s behaviour around women was always because of how he was treated by his mom, and his sister. He goes overboard, of course, with his antics, but…

I look down at the drink in my hand consideringly.

_Well. I’ve already taken on the mission of making Zoro smile more often. What’s another?_

Nodding to myself firmly, I tune back into the conversation.

“...I found some fresh fruit in the food storage area that Nami-swan and I cracked open, so I figured making some juice out of them would be interesting,” he notes as he swaps out glass for glass with how fast Karoo was going through the drinks.

I take another sip, relishing in the taste. It’s lightly carbonated, tasting kind of like… grapefruit? Whatever it is, it’s good.

Sanji beams at whatever expression is on my face, looking positively pleased. “Do you like it, Neo-chan?”

I take another sip and smile back at him appreciatively. “Yeah, it’s really good, Sanji!”

He falls to the deck with a _thump_ , muttering something about “lovely compliments”, making me chuckle at his antics.

_He gets a lot of shit for what he does, but that just means I need to get him accustomed to normal compliments._

It’s remarkably peaceful now, compared to the crazy weather we almost faced before we arrived at Whiskey Peak, so I let myself enjoy the warm sun and cool breeze.

“Hey Usopp, you should make us some fishing rods!”

“Yeah, fishing sounds good.”

“Hum… okay! I’ll make us some real eye-catching rods for us to use!”

I lean into their little circle conversation on the ground with a glint in my eyes.

“Can mine be equipped with a cute keychain?”

Usopp flashes a thumbs up at me.

“Absolutely.”

Distantly, I hear Vivi and Nami talking amicably—probably something about how we’re all too relaxed for being hunted down, but from the way Vivi smiles at us from the corner of my eye, I think she’s taken my previous words to heart.

_“Princess, you’re going to have to get used to this. On this ship? Bad thoughts don’t stay for too long.”_

I lean back against Merry’s railing and close my eyes.

_It’s almost a curse, how easy it is to forget._

* * *

The sun is high in the sky, probably about noon or so, when we see Little Garden in the distance. The sail itself wasn’t very long after we spent a couple hours eating while anchored, so I spent most of the trip thinking about what comes next, and what I needed to tell my crew.

Now that Little Garden is in sight, if I’m going to tell them anything, it has to be now.

“Hey, you guys!” I call out to everyone sitting on Merry’s lower deck, and they look up at me curiously.

Nami is the first to pause what she’s doing, peering down at a map, and a concerned look crosses her features.

“Neo? Is something bad going to happen on that island?” she calls up to me pensively, followed by Vivi, who also seems to remember my ability.

I breathe in sharply through my teeth and tilt my hand back and forth in a ‘so-so’ motion. “Kind of?”

“WHAT KIND OF ANSWER IS THAT?!”

I laugh off their shouts and point my finger at Little Garden. “Remember what Robin told us before? That’s Little Garden.”

This catches all of my crew’s attention and in unison, they all turn their gazes at the approaching island.

“No spoilers,” I say for the sake of my captain, who grins at me, “but we should be careful about how we enter that jungle. From what I can see, there’s going to be some… _prehistoric_ characters making an appearance there, though that isn’t the worst of our problems.”

My crew looks at each other. “By prehistoric, you don’t mean—?”

“If you’re thinking of something that ends with -saur, yes.”

A whimper escapes Nami and Usopp, but Zoro crosses his arms and frowns up at me.

“You said that it wasn’t ‘the worst of our problems’ though. So what is?”

I give him a rueful smile.

“Bugs.”

They stare at me.

I stare back.

“...Bugs,” Nami says slowly, the end of the word lifting up in a question.

I nod firmly. “Bugs.”

Silence.

“GIVES US MORE INFORMATION THAN THAT!” she shakes my collar viciously.

“Alright, alright—ack, Nami let me go, I’m gonna choke before I can tell you!” I squeak, breathing out a sigh as she finally lets me go. “Thanks.”

We’re closing in on Little Garden now, the dense forest practically breathing like it has a life of its own. It’s daunting, as much as it’s almost beautiful. _And dangerous_.

I run my hand through my hair, brushing my bangs aside, and blow out a breath.

“Bugs, especially in a place like this, where probably no human has set foot in for who knows how many years? They carry diseases, or illnesses, that could kill us all in one fell swoop. Our bodies will try to fight it, but they’ll have no experience with the dangers of this place,” I list off genially, frowning.

“The only protection we’re going to have is our clothing, unless we have bug spray somewhere on the ship.” I look up hopefully.

When everyone shakes their heads, I sigh. “Yeah, figured as much. If you can help it, try to keep your skin covered, and watch out for bugs, if you’re going off the ship.”

Usopp and Nami both look at me with dangerously blank faces. “If?”

“Ah, seems I misspoke. _When_ Cap eventually drags all of us inland in order to seek adventure,” I say with a shit-eating smile, internally preening at the way Zoro muffles a snort at my statement.

 _Reminds me. Gotta make sure that broken compass smiles more. I think he forgot how to, after getting utterly wrecked by Mihawk..._ I cross my arms, peering distantly at the ever-approaching Little Garden with a heavy frown, as everyone watches me worriedly.

_Why do I feel like I’m forgetting something?_

I lightly bang my head back against the wall separating me from the galley. What was it? Something important that I have to get rid of. What…

“By the way, does anyone want seconds of that drink I made before?”

“Oh, me! Me!”

Drink?

_Oh, shit._

“Crap, I forgot about the beer!” I jolt, gasping aloud. My crew turns to look at me with blank, confused faces, and I hasten to explain.

“Mr. Five, remember the guy that could make himself explode? He tampered with the alcohol,” I hiss, and understanding dawns on my crewmate’s faces, Zoro and Sanji immediately heading down below in order to get rid of it. As they do, I sigh in relief.

_Right. Mr. Five rigged the alcohol, and when the giants drank it… one of them got blown up. If we get rid of it now, that wipes out that chance entirely._

There’s a grim satisfaction in me as the barrels go overboard, uncorked and seeping their contents into the ocean. I bury my hand in my hair again, internally bashing myself for nearly forgetting something like that. _How could I forget that?_

I catch Nami’s worried eye, and send her a small smile to appease her, just as Usopp raises his hands at the front of Merry’s deck.

“Hey you guys, we’re right up to Little Garden now!”

I swallow heavily and watch as Merry pulls up to the side of the island. Now or never, whatever happens, happens.

_I just hope we aren’t one less a navigator, after this._

* * *

I hardly get a word in before Luffy (and Vivi) are launching themselves into the dense jungle without a glance back, Luffy yelling something about ‘adventure’ and Vivi proclaiming that she would keep an eye on him while exploring herself, along with Karoo. I know that they’ll be fine in the end thanks to the giants, but there’s still a twinge of worry in me as I watch them slowly disappear into the greenery.

“You’re just saying that because I can hunt more than you, stupid cook.”

“Hah? You wanna repeat that again, algae-head?”

“You heard me, you just don’t want to admit it.”

“That’s it, idiot moss-for-brains—!”

I swiftly cut in between them raising my hands to stop them from lunging at each other, giving Sanji a bright smile that leaves him heart-eyed and motionless.

“I know you have your own rivalry going on here, but let’s try not to fight, okay? We should stick together, and not just because we’ll eventually get lost,” I say pointedly.

Sanji shoots Zoro a _look_ , but Nami swiftly cuts in and points at the log pose in her hand. “We just need to stay here for a day or so, right? Let Luffy and Vivi explore while these two hunt some food for us.”

At that, I swiftly shake my head. “No. Unfortunately, Little Garden is even worse for travelers like us. It’ll take a year or so for the Log Pose to set,” I frown, looking sympathetically at Nami whose jaw immediately drops.

“WHAT?!”

I swiftly step behind Sanji to avoid Nami’s strangling hands.

“Don’t worry though! There’s a cabin somewhere in the jungle that Mr. 3, one of Baroque Work’s top elites, set up in using his devil fruit. At some point, there’ll be a call from Mr. Zero himself, telling us that someone is going to bring along an _eternal pose to Alabasta._ ”

The deafening silence from my crewmates told me that they knew exactly what that meant.

“That means—”

“Yeah. We’ll be able to get to Alabasta straight away, if we play our cards right.” I nod, looking back out towards the jungle where Luffy, Vivi, and Karoo were.

“I managed to see through our trip here using Foresight, and so far, I’ve prevented a couple of things… but like I said, Mr. Three and a woman named Ms. Golden Week will be here trying to get the bounties for the two giants on this island—”

“Giants?!”

“—and us, for knowing Mr. Zero’s real name.” I jump off Merry’s deck and down onto the soil of Little Garden, shifting the small notebook in my hand into my jean pocket.

“If everything goes right, Mr. Three and Ms. Golden Week should be out in the forest looking for us now, leaving the cabin unprotected… _If Mr. Five and Ms. Valentine aren’t here_ …” I mutter the last part of the sentence underneath my breath.

Luffy and Zoro had given the two of them a thorough thrashing back on Whiskey Peak, at least enough to deter them for another couple hours yet, so I wasn’t _too_ worried… but you could never be too careful.

Just as I take a step towards the forest, a sharp rumbling shakes the ground, causing me to gasp in shock and stumble back against Merry.

“What the hell—?!”

“GAHHH IT’S A MONSTER!”

I sharply look up towards the face that peeked out from the treeline, a large, but generally friendly disposition exuding from the giant.

The giant looks down at us with inquisitive eyes, smiling. “Do you have any ale?”

“W…wh…huh…” I can hear Nami’s terrified blubbering from up deck, and knowing that an answer probably won’t make it past her, nor the other’s lips for a moment, I smile up at Broggy with an apologetic smile.

“Sorry, our beer got tampered with on the last island, so we had to dump it all. All we’ve got to offer is our company, if that’s okay?” I tilt my head, and Brogy lets out a hearty laugh.

“Gabababababa! I like you, tiny girl! Why don’t you and your friends join me for a feast?!” He leans down towards me, a grin so toothy and genuine that I can’t help but smile brightly right back.

“Sorry, sir! I have to go find something in the jungle with Zoro and Sanji, but I’m sure my friends Nami—the redhead—and Usopp—the boy with curly black hair— would be happy to join you!” I smile brightly, ignoring the aforementioned two’s shouts of immediate refusal.

“That’s too bad then! Come, little friends! We’ll have a feast fit for the giants of Elbaf!”

And just like that, Brogy drags Nami and Usopp towards his “home”, while I tug along Sanji and Zoro in a direction in the jungle.

Truthfully, I have no idea where the wax house _is_ , since the direction wasn’t specified in the manga, but I figure walking around will eventually get us there, as long as we don’t lose track of Zoro.

“So, any reason you brought us both along, Neo?” Zoro inquires from his spot next to me, looking around the dense jungle. I steer him away from the random path to the left of us, and back on track towards the direction Sanji and I were heading.

I brush a fanned leaf out of my way as I step over a large tree root, considering my answer. “Yes, and no.”

Sanji kicks an oncoming dino with a swift movement, rendering it unconscious in a matter of seconds, smirking triumphantly at Zoro while he raises a brow at me.

“Want to clarify?”

I flash him a cheeky smile.

“Well…”

Sanji cuts me off.

“Hey, what’s that?”

The both of us pause and look ahead—where, lo and behold, the white wax base was , just past a cluster of thick trees.

 _Really not well hidden at all,_ I think blasély, making my way into the cabin house thing, just as the volcano in the distance erupted for the second time today. _And right on time._

Thankfully, there didn’t seem to be any sign of Mr. Five or Ms. Valentine was nearby if they were in Little Garden at all, so I took a quick cursory glance around the hut and then made my way straight towards the box holding the den den mushi, opening it and placing it on the table. I sit in the chair just behind the table, making a face at the odd kind of mushy texture of the chair, reminding myself that it _is_ all made of wax.

“The volcanos signal the start of a duel between Brogy and Dorry,” I say distractedly, peering around the wax table for anything I could take or use—a stack of paper catching my eye. “Since that was the second one we heard today, Luffy and Vivi must have met Dorry already. He’s the other giant on this island, by the way.”

Sanji hums just as distractedly as I do as he sifts through the wax cabinet on the wall, narrowing his eyes at the brand of tea. “Not bad,” he mutters.

I also notice Zoro looking out the circle window of the hut generally towards where the mountain is, as I pick up the stack of papers resting by the table’s leg.

Unsurprisingly, they seem to be the mugshots that Mr. Thirteen had drawn of us before—quite well drawn, I notice, though Usopp’s were better. There’s five in total, but the last one catches my eye and I blink confusedly at it.

“Huh. Who’s this?” I ask blankly, which causes my two companions to walk over curiously.

When they take a closer look at the drawing in my hand, they both turn to me with incredulous looks on their faces.

“What do you mean—?”

“That’s you, Neo.”

I blanch.

“Huh?”

I turn from them back to the drawing, and take note of the details.

The—girl? Young man? Woman? In the drawing had long hair that went past their shoulders, with sidebangs that lay haphazardly over their right eye. A long scar went down the right side of their neck, stopping just short of the collar bone as well.

Honestly? The person in the drawing doesn’t look familiar at all, but as I reach up to my neck and feel the scar running down it, there’s no mistaking that I must look like the person in the drawing.

“I… never knew,” I say hesitantly.

Understanding dawns on Sanji’s face as he looks from the drawing back towards me.

“That makes sense. You have no memories of your past, and it’s not like any of us have seen a mirror in a while…”

It’s not exactly a shocking revelation, but the truth in his statement makes me hesitate to put it down. At least now I know where they get the idea that I’m a woman. The person in the drawing looks generally pretty androgynous, except for the hair, though it’s not like they’re _wrong_.

Shaking my head, I put down the papers, when something else just underneath the table cover catches my eye. When I pull it out, it looks like the bounties for Dorry and Brogy, each listed as one hundred million each. But when I reach the third paper in the pile, my eyes widen and my breath catches.

“Tra—?!”

“Purupurupurupuru.”

I’m interrupted from my gasp by the ringing of the den den mushi in front of me, and immediately, Zoro and Sanji crowd closer to me as they stare at the snail. I hold my tongue and gently fold the bounty poster in my hands and tuck it into my notebook, nodding at Sanji to pick up the receiver.

“Gacha.”

“Hello, this is restaurant Le Crap. Would you like to make a reservation?” Sanji says dryly, and simultaneously, both Zoro and I whack him harshly and lightly respectively upside the head.

“Enough with the jokes, Mr. Three. You’re late with your report. Have you accomplished your mission?” Mr. Zero’s—Crocodile’s—voice drones through the den den mushi with a low, dangerous quality to it. The three of us glance between each other with frowns, and I mouth “man hunt” at Sanji, who seems to understand.

“...absolutely. Everyone who knows your secret has been eliminated, so you can rest easy,” Sanji says genially into the receiver, and I flash him a thumbs up.

“I see. Good work. The Unluckies are on their way to confirm the job… and to drop off something important to you,” Crocodile says, the den den mushi sending along his creepy smile, just as a flutter of wings catch our attention from the circle window.

I straighten in my seat as Zoro prepares his swords, and Sanji grins. “Got it.”

“I want you to head to Alabasta with Ms. Golden Week, and await further orders,” Crocodile continues, just as Mr. Thirteen and Miss Friday peek their heads in through the circle windows of the hut, realizing who we were.

“Understood, Mr. Zero. I’ll—holy shit!” Gunfire rings out and Sanji grabs my waist in order to get me out of the way, Zoro deflecting the bullets and slicing Mr. Thirteen effectively, followed with Sanji slamming his leg down on Miss Friday’s head, knocking her out immediately.

The den den mushi behind us shuffled. “What was that?”

Sanji quickly raised the receiver again, ready to speak. “Ah, it was just—”

I tap his shoulder and point at the dead dino he had killed lying just outside the hut door, and he nods.

“You know how Little Garden is, full of dinosaurs and other beasties. One got a little curious, is all,” he relays smoothly, and there’s a moment of silence from Crocodile, before he responds.

“I see.”

I narrow my eyes worriedly.

He’s got a rein on his emotions. From the short answer, there’s no way for me to tell if he truly believes us or not.

“Very well. You are to come to Alabasta. This will be the last time I will give orders to you electronically, we can not have the Marines on our trail. I wish for your success, Mr. Three,” and with that, he hangs up, and I slump back into the chair with a sigh.

“That… went as well as it could have, I guess,” I say tiredly, picking up the dropped eternal pose on the ground as a distant _roar_ echoes in the distance, catching the attention of all three of us.

“That… didn’t sound like your average dinosaur roar,” Zoro comments idly, and I refuse to think about the fact that we would know about _average dinosaur roars_ because of the damn Grand Line.

“No, that definitely sounded like an enraged shout.” I agree.

“Should we check it out?”

We look at each other, and then back towards where Luffy and co. were most likely at.

“...Yeah, probably.”

* * *

We’re nearing the clearing where the roar had sounded from, Zoro’s wrist clenched in my hand—

_“Neo-chan, why don’t you hold my hand as we run instead of the idiot moss-head’s~?”_

_“Do_ you _want to be the one to make sure Zoro doesn’t get lost by holding his hand, Sanji?”_

_“...”_

_“Oi, I don’t need to be led_ —!”

—just as the large, pumpkin-esque head of Mr. Three’s candle special comes tumbling down, coating Vivi and Nami with even more wax. The latter takes notice of us coming onto the scene though.

“Neo! Zoro! Sanji!” She gasps happily, before going through a coughing fit that has Sanji snarling angrily.

“How _dare_ you make Vivi-chan and Nami-swan suffer like this…? You’ll pay for that!”

He launches himself straight into battle, roundhouse kicking an unsuspecting Mr. Three in the face as Usopp manages to aim a Fire Star just behind Nami and Vivi, starting to get them melted.

It looks like the giants were fine, just shackled to each other near the ground of the candle special Mr. Three had set up. They should be free in a matter of minutes thanks to Usopp’s Fire Star, and I breathe a sigh of relief.

Zoro pushes past me and charges at Ms. Golden Week, who shrieks in fear as she runs from him, grabbing feebly at her paintbrush and palette in an attempt to whisk her power at him, though was too slow to stop him from slashing her and rendering her unconscious, just as Sanji finished his job with Mr. Three, whose face was beaten black and blue.

Still no sign of Mr. Five or Ms. Valentine, I note offhandedly, as Nami, now free, sweeps Zoro and Sanji in a hug, the former hissing at her to let go and the latter simply enjoying this event far more than he should. Vivi, similarly, is hugging Usopp and Karoo, while Luffy pouts at the fact that he hadn’t been the one to knock out Mr. Three or Ms. Golden Week from nearby.

“Ehhh, Sanji, Zoro, what was that for?! I had it all under control,” he puffs his rubber cheeks out and folds his arms, childish irritation settling on his face. I giggle a bit at his behaviour—it will never not be cute—and walk over to pat him on the head gently.

“Don’t worry Cap, I know you don’t like spoilers, but I can promise you that you’ll be seeing a lot of fun fights in the future,” I smile, and eventually, Luffy smiles back too, eyes lighting up.

“Really? Promise?”

_“Promise me you won’t die, Ace…!”_

My breath catches in my throat as the memory assaults me from nowhere, triggered by that one word.

Luffy stares at me with a blank look, and I realize that I’ve been silent a second too long, shaking myself out of whatever _that_ was.

“Promise, Captain.”

He hums lightly for a minute or so, and then nods firmly. “Alright then!”

With the captain appeased, we both make our way towards where the giants and everyone else was gathered, and I clear my throat.

“So, this was… eventful, but we managed to get through everything oka—” I cut myself off as I notice something land on Nami’s arm, a bug, that could very well be—!

I roughly grab Nami’s wrist, ignoring her shout of “hey”, and swipe my hand right where the bug had landed with a disgusting _squish!_ sound.

Relief fills me as I realize that I was fast enough to prevent her from getting bit, but when I go to move my hand, I flinch from an almost pinch like feeling on my palm, and _freeze_.

Nami gapes at the disgusting remains of the insect smeared on her arm, but I’m more focused on the fact that the bug’s proboscis is definitely stuck in my palm, it was a fairly sized bug after all, and I rush to wipe my hand on the grass in order to get the remains of it off.

 _Fuck. Fuck, fuck fuck fuck_ —!

“Neo?” A hand touches my shoulder, and I jolt.

My crew is staring at me with uncertain eyes, Nami frowning heavily at me. I notice that my breathing is getting faster, so I take one big breath, hold it for a bit, and then exhale.

 _Okay. Entirely possible that this isn’t bad. For all I know, this isn’t the bug that gets her sick,_ I reason silently.

Feeling calmer, I look back up to everyone, to Vivi, and smile weakly.

“Sorry. Foresight,” I say lightly, and then take the eternal pose from my pocket, handing it to Nami, who gasps.

“Wait, is this—?!”

I nod sharply. “Yeah. That’s the eternal pose to Alabasta. We managed to grab it from Mr. Three’s wax hut,” I jab a thumb towards the unconscious duo from Baroque Works with a smirk. “With this, we can get there ahead of time.”

Nami hands Vivi the eternal pose carefully, before turning to look at me with a critical eye. “Something tells me that there’s a ‘but’ coming along, Neo.”

I grimace. “Well… about that Foresight.”

I raise my hand, where I can already see the redness of the bite on my palm clearly against my skin. “Remember when I said that bugs can carry diseases that could easily kill us…?”

Nami’s eyes widen, shocked, which is mirrored by everyone else except for Luffy, who tilts his head in confusion. “Don’t… don’t tell me that the bug you hit—?!”

“I don’t know for sure,” I cut her off quickly before they can panic, frowning.

“Physically I don’t feel any different right now, but that could change in the near future,” I wince.

Something akin to guilt floods Nami’s eyes as she watches me, and I send her a firm look. “Don’t think this is your fault, Nami. You’re our navigator—losing you would be even worse,” I say determinedly. She shuts her mouth before a word slips out, but I know that she’s smart enough to know that a ship without a navigator was as good as dead.

“As it stands, I’m the weakest of the crew, without even having a proper role,” I look at the sun, which was starting to set in the sky.

“Hmm… so you must be leaving now, hm?”

All seven of us whirl around in shock to look at the giants, a considering look on both of their faces.

“Yes. We need to get to Alabasta straight away,” I answer with a nod, ignoring the shared look of concern between my crewmates.

Dorry nods at this, and a broad smile blooms his face. “Gegyagyagyagya! Then, let us help you! Brogy, think you can handle a union attack on that foul beast?” He booms loudly, which is echoed by Brogy, with a mirrored smile on his own face.

“Gababababa! Of course I can, Dorry! Don’t worry, friends, we’ll get you on your way to Alabasta as smoothly as we can!”

A bead of sweat trails down my face, knowing exactly what was coming next, and wave off the looks of complete confusion aimed towards me.

“Don’t… don’t worry about it.”

* * *

“THIS IS THE LAST TIME I TRUST YOU WHEN YOU SAY DON’T WORRY ABOUT IT, NEO!”

The shriek of horror and fear rings loudly in my ears, and I flinch away. “Too close, Nami! And besides, we made it out okay, didn’t we?” I huff amusedly, vaguely listening to Usopp and Luffy’s cheers of visiting Elbaf.

The weather, surprisingly, was rather peaceful after the giant’s sent us off.

With the sun fading distantly into the horizon, it really did seem like we were in for a peaceful night, ignoring the fantasizing cheerful duo sitting on Merry’s ledge. Taking this moment of peace, I slip away into the galley, taking a seat and pulling out my notebook—

—blinking, as a folded paper falls out of it and onto my lap as I open it up.

_Oh, shit, that’s right!_

Quickly, I snatch the fluttering paper from the floor and unfold it, narrowing my eyes at the bold words on it.

_“Surgeon of Death” Trafalgar Law, worth two hundred-million beli._

I bite my lip.

This… is the earliest I’ve seen La—Trafalgar—mentioned. Ever. It wasn’t until way later, at Sabaody, that any of the Strawhats even hear a _thing_ about Trafalgar, let alone the other Supernovas, but for Baroque Works to have a bounty poster on them?

In hindsight, it makes a strange amount of sense. They were bounty hunters after all, and they were after Dorry and Brogy’s one hundred-million dual bounty… it would make sense that they would have the others, too.

 _It’s still a shock seeing it though,_ I rub the back of my head with a slightly grimace. I take another look over the wanted poster again, feeling a twinge of… _something_ in my chest.

Frowning, I rub at it.

“Who’s that, Neo?”

I squeak and jump in my seat, dropping the poster onto the table and twisting to look at a bemused Sanji, who had leaned down to look.

“Sanji! Don’t scare me like that, jeez!” I groan.

“Sorry, dear Neo-chan, I promise I won’t do it again!” He coos, causing me to sigh.

I lightly rap his head with my fist, knocking him out of his love mindset, and lift the poster again for him to get a better look at.

“Just this poster of one of the supernovas,” I say, the twinge in my chest reacting again. I clear my throat.

“Supernova?”

“Yeah. They’re a bunch of young pirates from what the Marines call ‘the Worst Generation’ that are making their way up in the pirate world.”

I tap the poster with my free hand. “This one specifically, Trafalgar Law… I’ve heard stories of him before. He’s the captain of the Heart Pirates and a doctor, specifically a surgeon, given the epithet ‘The Surgeon of Death’. I found his poster in Mr. Three’s hut,” I look at Sanji, who is nodding slowly.

“They were bounty hunters, so that makes sense.”

“Yeah.”

He raises an eyebrow at me. “So, why were you so intrigued in it?”

I open my mouth, and then close it.

There’s no real answer here, since I was just surprised to see him at _all_ , but that definitely wasn’t going to fly here. “He’s… someone we should watch out for,” I respond vaguely, clearing my throat again. Seriously, what was with my chest and throat, now?

Sanji’s raised eyebrow furrows down and he looks at me in concern now, standing up to his full height. “Are you okay? You’ve been clearing your throat a lot,” he raises a hand to my forehead, and rears back. “And you’re heating up! Shit, are you—?!”

I blink and feel for my own forehead—which, crap, he’s right, it’s hot even against my own hand—and groan. “...fuck.”

And it was rapidly getting worse, too.

Standing proves to be a bit too difficult—I sway in my spot as Sanji steadies me, yelling out for—some...someone?

“Fuck, S-Sanji, just—” I rasp weakly, vision blurring at the edges, “Drum—Drum Island—”

“What? Shit, stay with me, Neo—” the sound of the galley door creaked.

“Hey Sanji, I’m hungr—”

“Luffy! Get Nami, fast!”

“What? Hey, what’s wrong with Neo—?”

“Just get her, shitty rubber capta…!”

The words were already starting to fade out as my legs crumpled from beneath me…

And everything turned black.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey folks! It's been a minute, but here's chapter four: New Situations!  
> I'm glad you made it this far!  
> Little Garden was a whole mess, so Neo tries their best to make it... less, of a mess. And... it kind of worked? Ah well. Looks like Neo's gonna have to be the one to go through some suffering this time...
> 
> On a side note, Neo can not read, but they remember what the wanted posters looked like in the manga, and as such, recognize Law's, along with his memorable epithet.
> 
> Next time, the gang visits Drum Island!
> 
> Thanks again for reading, lovely viewers!
> 
> Oh, and before I forget: Want to talk to me, ask me questions, or see what else I do outside of writing this fic? Follow me on my One Piece Tumblr Blog http://stealyourheart.tumblr.com or my Twitter art account https://twitter.com/AFakeDonaldist?s=09!
> 
> Would love to interact with you guys!


End file.
